...rescuing a drowning person (even a child) is incredibly dangerous...
If you're swimming in crowded conditions, this can happen when you least expect it. I don't actually remember learning to swim, so it wasn't remarkable that I was hanging out, treading water, in the deep end at a resort at the age of six or seven. What was remarkable was suddenly finding myself at the bottom, thrust down by strong adult hands. Apparently my instincts were good, so before surfacing I swam away from the non-swimming adult who had just descended a ladder and grabbed the first thing that came to hand. Apparently the buoyancy she got from me was enough to get her back to the ladder. Several minutes later I was telling my mother that I thought someone had dunked me, when the non-swimming woman came up and tearfully apologized.
Teach your kids to swim, while they're very young!
If you're swimming in crowded conditions, this can happen when you least expect it. I don't actually remember learning to swim, so it wasn't remarkable that I was hanging out, treading water, in the deep end at a resort at the age of six or seven. What was remarkable was suddenly finding myself at the bottom, thrust down by strong adult hands. Apparently my instincts were good, so before surfacing I swam away from the non-swimming adult who had just descended a ladder and grabbed the first thing that came to hand. Apparently the buoyancy she got from me was enough to get her back to the ladder. Several minutes later I was telling my mother that I thought someone had dunked me, when the non-swimming woman came up and tearfully apologized.
Teach your kids to swim, while they're very young!