Head Above Water

This piece was originally published in July 2024. It is being republished for the upcoming summer months.

Drowning is the leading cause of death among children under age four in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that unintentional drowning is on the rise. Most drownings happen when children wander into pools or lakes without supervision. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance says that having alarms or barriers around pools can prevent young children from getting into or falling into the water without an adult around to help.

Still, one of the best ways to protect children from drowning is water competency, which means introducing children to the real dangers of water and teaching them how to swim at a young age.

Learning to swim is like learning to ride a bike; once you pick up the skill, it feels impossible to forget. But not everyone learns how to swim. In fact, a new CDC report using data from the National Vital Statistics System shows that there are differences between racial groups in drowning rates and swim instruction.

In the U.S., 52% of White adults have had swimming lessons at some point in their lives, making them better prepared for a water emergency and lowering the risk of drowning. However, Black and Hispanic adults are less likely to have taken swimming lessons. These results reflect that, as children, people of color do not have the same access to water safety training as White people, putting them at greater risk of drowning.

Unequal access to swim lessons, due to expense or the unavailability of local pools, contributes to the ongoing rise in unintentional drowning. Without proper swimming training, these gaps may widen for children of different racial groups. If our kids aren’t taught to navigate water safely, their fun in the sun may become a trip to the deep end they aren’t ready for.