Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 6/29/2008

Question
I remember reading somewhere that Jewish Law obliges a parent  to teach its child to swim.  Am I imagining this or is there a Talmudic source for this.

Answer
Martin,
Good question. Yes, the Talmud does teach the parent's obligation to teach his or her children to swim. It actually comes from an unlikely area of the Talmud (which indicates both its spiritual and physical importance):

According to the Talmud, a parent must teach their children:
1) Torah
2) A living
3) to swim
(Kiddushin 29a)

Note that we are not required to teach our children how to walk or run, as these come naturally. A child must be prepared by his/her parents for life. Swimming both protects the child physically (from drowning) and also acts as a metaphor regarding independence.

Hope this helps! Shalom!