Swim lessons and adult supervision are crucial to avoid tragedies in the pool.

After decades of decline, drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Over 4,500 people died each year from drowning from 2020-2022, reported in the CDC’s Vital Signs study. The study shows drowning to be the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4. The research points out that 55% of American adults have never taken a swimming lesson, and that drowning death rates for Black people were 28% higher in 2021 than 2019.

Jon Gehlbach, MD, is the medical director of the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois. He says swim lessons and adult supervision are two of the most important things for kids getting in the water.

“The best thing we can do to keep kids safe around the water is getting them comfortable with swim lessons. A common misconception among young, pre-swim lesson kids is that some type of flotation device is replacement for either swim lessons or adult supervision. Unfortunately, those devices aren’t really designed to keep kids safe in the water without those two other elements,” Dr. Gehlbach says.

Know CPR

In the unfortunate event your child loses consciousness underwater, Dr. Gehlbach says knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is of the utmost importance.

He adds that “time is brain," and the longer the brain goes without oxygen, the less chance there is of a meaningful recovery. That's why quick intervention is crucial.

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