With both a creek and a pool in her Louisiana backyard, Baton Rouge mom Briana Hood is acutely aware of the drowning risk her elementary school-age children face daily. “My son could be fishing back there or my six-year-old could be playing and easily fall in.” Hood is watchful with her family around water, but she acknowledges how quickly trouble can arise. “You get together with friends, and somebody thinks somebody else is watching, and you turn around and somebody’s drowning. It’s scary.”
U.S. drowning deaths have become more common, according to Vital Signs, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Released in May 2024, the study uncovered the latest disturbing stats:
- Drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged 1-4 and the second leading cause of injury death for children aged 5-14.
- Approximately one third (36.8%) of Black adults surveyed said they don’t know how to swim, a significantly higher percentage than other racial or ethnic groups. Only 36.9% of Black adults and 28.1% of Hispanic adults reported ever taking a swimming lesson.
- In addition, the American Red Cross reports that 79% of children in households with income less than $50,000 have few-to-no swimming skills. 64% of Black, 45% of Hispanic and 40% of white children lack those skills as well.
Health Scientist Tessa Clemens, PhD, the lead author of the CDC report, says, “Drowning has been increasing in recent years, which is really concerning. And some of the groups that were already at higher risk have seen some of the greatest increases in drowning rates.”
Reducing the Risk of Drowning
There is a proven method for reducing the risk of drowning: basic swimming and water safety skills training. Clemens said, “Kids who participate in formal swimming lessons have a lower risk of drowning than their peers who don’t.”
A student enjoys swim lessons at the YMCA of the Capital Area Baton Rouge.
Instructors teach swimming and water safety skills.
20 community organizations offer low- or no-cost lessons.
But for many children in the U.S., swim instruction can be out of reach, due to cost, unavailability of nearby lessons, lack of transportation and other factors.
That’s why the CDC Foundation and CDC, with financial assistance from Bloomberg Philanthropies, developed an initiative to fund 20 community-serving organizations around the country, including local YMCAs, to offer no-cost and low-cost swimming and water safety classes to kids aged 6 to 15 from areas at increased risk for drowning. The program also connects with local schools, which offer bus rides to the lessons and other support.
More Than Just How to Swim
The East Baton Rouge Parish school district partners with one of the grantees, YMCA of the Capital Area. Their President and CEO Christian Engle is appreciative. “You just have so many families that don't have access, right? They either can't afford the access, or they didn't grow up with pools in their backyard or even pools in their community,” said Engle. “We really want children to know how to be safe around the water, how to help a friend if they're in trouble in the water. And it’s a lifelong skill.”
When Briana Hood discovered her son’s second-grade class was offering lessons through his elementary school, she signed him up. “He was really excited to spend the day with his friends out here,” Hood said. “They taught more than just how to swim. They taught water safety as well–just that knowledge of what to do, how to flip over and float on your back. Those lifesaving skills are huge.”
The instructors at the YMCA of the Capital Area facilities in Baton Rouge follow the Y’s standard curriculum. They teach the students everything from putting on life jackets, putting their faces in the water and how to float, all the way up to jumping in the deep end, swimming to safety, and using the wall to exit the pool. As District Aquatics Director Stacey Adams said, “But the biggest thing we learn, and I make them all say it, every lesson, is ask permission. So these kids don't walk down to that ditch or to the pond alone and get into trouble.”
Grabbing the wall to exit the pool is an important water safety skill.
Kids learn to help each other around the pool.
Having Fun and Staying Safe
The impact is evident. “This summer, we're going to be teaching 3,900 children how to swim,” Engle enthused. “Just the fact that we can have these children in our pools this summer, not just playing, but learning a skill that they can take with them for life, I think is tremendous.”
“I think for our community, specifically, it's really great because there's a lot of children here that wouldn't get swim lessons otherwise,” Hood agreed. “This may be their only chance to get knowledge of the water and what to do in the water. So, I think it's a huge program for us.”
And beyond the immediate benefit, these lessons begin to weave a safe water culture into the fabric of these communities, since an interest in swimming is often passed down through families and neighborhoods. In fact, five of the facilities’ lifeguards started out in the swim program.
And the student reviews are equally complimentary. Kingston, age 8, got the key message. “It’s important to know how to swim, because if something happens to you in the pool, you'll know how to push yourself up to safety.”
The Foundation looks forward to making sure more kids can have fun and stay safe around water. The goal is to reach 20,000 children through these grants by April of 2025.
This project is part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded Understanding and Preventing Drowning Program, which supports the CDC Foundation work in partnership with the CDC in 10 states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.
