Ideally every New Zealand child would have regular free swimming lessons in their school pool - as we did in our day.
But these days not every school has a pool, so it's great that many parents are using the school holidays to help their kids improve their water skills and confidence.
Water safety has been in the spotlight recently due to a number of drownings. What baffles me is that often those who drown, and those rescued after near-misses, are described as inexperienced or non-swimmers. So why, then, do they venture into water they are not confident in?
It seems all too often people are quite literally getting in over their heads, a depth I would never venture into without a life jacket - no matter how much ribbing that earns me.
In an ideal world we'd all be expert swimmers and, by all means, let's strive to make that a reality. Until then, staying safe in the water has to start with everyone knowing their limitations. Simple really.