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Chilling Statistics

Statistic	Source
Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. among children under 14 and leading cause of accidental death for children age 5 and under	American Institute for Preventive Medicine
A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the phone	U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Of all preschoolers who drown, 70% are in the care of one or both parents and 75% are missing from sight five minutes or less	National Center for Injury Prevention & Control
For children under four years of age, a swimming pool is more dangerous than an automobile. In fact, children this age are 14 times as likely to drown in a pool than be killed in a motor vehicle accident. In Louisiana, 30 children less than 15-years old drowned in 1999, and almost half (47%) of those were less than five years of age.	Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health
65% of preschooler drownings occur in the child’s home pool and 33% at the homes of friends, neighbors or relatives.	U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
46 percent WERE LAST SEEN IN THE HOUSE prior to being found in the pool. Of these, 15 percent were thought to be sleeping.	46%
23 percent were last seen in the yard, porch or patio, not in the pool area. That's a total of 69 percent that were thought not to be in the pool area.	23%
39 percent of the people responsible for supervising the child were doing chores. 18 percent socializing. 9 percent were busy on the telephone.	39%
Self-reported swim ability levels reveal disparity among socioeconomic and racial classifications. A majority (61%) of the respondents reported a low swimming ability with 10% of the sample unable to swim. Free/reduced school lunch recipients reported significantly less swimming ability than no free lunch respondents. Two-thirds (66%) of the Free/Reduced School Lunch recipients self-reported no/low swim ability. In fact, 12% of respondents qualifying for a Free Lunch Program self-reported that they were not able to swim. This figure is almost twice that reported by those who do not qualify for free school lunch. Overall, White respondents self-reported significantly higher swimming ability than Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino respondents. More than two-thirds (69%) of the Black/African American respondents self-reported low swimming skills while 58% of the Hispanic/Latino and 42% of the White respondents self-reported similar swim ability. 14% of Black/African American and 7% of Hispanic/Latino respondents self-reported that they were not able to swim. Less than 6% of White respondents reported a similar lack of swim ability. In fact, when controlling for income, Black/African American respondents were found to have significantly less swimming ability than White and Hispanic/Latino. 19% of the respondents claimed to have received a swim lesson from a qualified instructor as compared to 24% who claim to have taught themselves how to swim. 16% of Black/African American and 15% of Hispanic respondents claimed to have received a swim lesson from a qualified instructor. Similar swim lessons were received by 29% of the White and 34% of the respondents who did not qualify for a Free Lunch Program. 11% of Black/African American and 13% of Hispanic/Latino respondents who identified themselves as recipients of Free school Lunch Program had received a swim lesson from a qualified instructor. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the Hispanic/Latino recipients of Free School Lunch Program claimed to have been taught by a family member (36%) or themselves (28%). Over half (52%) of the Black/African American recipients of Free School Lunch Program claimed to have been taught by a family member (26%) or themselves (26%). Most adolescents cited they know how to be safe around water and follow water safety rules when swimming. Similar (affirmative) response patterns were found among all respondents for I’d like to swim more. Almost half (46%) of the respondents self-reporting no/low swim ability will visit a pool on a weekly basis this summer.	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis
Fear of injury and drowning found to be strong predictor variables of no and/or low swimming ability. Multiple regression analysis, comprised of variables fulfilling the primary research objectives (page 4), revealed child and/or parent “fear of drowning” and “concern for getting injured while swimming” by child/parent/caregiver to be two significant predictor variables of swim ability. The “fear of drowning” (or absence of fear)was found to be the strongest overall predictor of swimming ability among the variables under investigation. Free/reduced school lunch recipients reported significantly higher fear of injury/drowning than non-qualifiers. Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino respondents reported significantly higher fear of injury than White respondents. Black/African American respondents reported significantly higher fear of drowning than White respondents. Interviews with parent/caregivers demonstrate a state of fear restricting children from participating in swim lessons. A parent in Boston, who does not allow child to swim shared, “I know how I am and she knows if I panic, if mommy feels like anything is going wrong, it’s over... as she starts getting uncomfortable I jump right in.” A parent in Minneapolis/St. Paul admitted keeping her daughter out of swim lessons, stating, “I’m scared.... I’m scared for her... while it’s the cost, I’m scared...I’m scared for her, I don’t know, I’m kinda scared, but she’s not afraid.”	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis
Family and parental swimming involvement/encouragement found to be critical to child’s swimming ability. Items associated with encouraging a child to swim (e.g. My parents/caregivers encourage me to swim) were tested and found to be a significant contributor to a child’s swimming ability. White respondents were significantly more likely to provide/receive family/parental encouragement to swim. Recipients of family/parental encouragement to swim were significantly: 1. more skilled swimmers 2. less worried about injury/drowning 3. more likely to enjoy swimming and desire to swim more As stated by a Boston parent, “A lot of African American and Latinos don’t swim because their parents don’t swim, they don’t encourage it. I think we need to educate the parents on the importance of swimming as a life saving skill. You know they just don’t really value swimming as an important life saving skill. Cause they didn’t swim.” As revealed within this report a majority of parents/caregivers (54%) self-reported low swimming ability while approximately one-third (34%) of the adolescent respondents agreed with the statement My parents/caregivers know how to swim.	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis
Items associated with physical appearance found to influence child’s swimming ability. Items associated with inhibiting a child’s physical appearance (e.g. I don’t like how swimming ruins my appearance/how I look) were tested and found to be a significant contributor to a child’s swimming ability. Black/African American respondents reported significantly greater concern forgetting their hair wet and the negative impact of water/chemicals on child’s appearance than Whites. An exchange among African American parents in Atlanta on the topic of appearance, (Male) “Another thing about this (hair issue)... it’s really bad for African American girls. A lot of them won’t get in the there (pool) because it will mess up their hair.” (Female) “The chlorine in the pool will strip all of the protein out of your hair. It’s really bad for African Americans.”	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis
Fear of water and drowning trumps finances. When tested against other variables under investigation financial constraint and/or affordability items (e.g. Our family budget does not include money for swim lessons) were not found to be significant contributors to swim ability. While free/reduced school lunch recipients were significantly more inclined to agree that the family budget does not include money for swim lessons than those who do not qualify for free/reduced school lunch when included in regression model the item was not found to be a significant contributor of swim ability. In fact, reduced school lunch program recipients were significantly less inclined to agree with such statements than free school lunch program recipients. A majority of the adolescent respondents disagreed with the statement “It costs a lot of money to swim.” Interviews with parents/caregivers revealed the relationship between fear and finances. A mother in Denver did not believe swim lessons for her child were worth the effort, maintaining, “... you’re already uncomfortable and scared. You’re like, ‘I‘m paying them so I can have heart palpitations on the side- lines. It’s not worth it. It really isn’t. Why should I have to pay money to be afraid?” A parent in Boston, “I think we really have to educate the parents because when we go to the Boys and Girls club and their fee is $20 for eight weeks...its cheap. It’s nothing. But you don’t have a lot of African Americans that do it. I think its educating the parents $20 for eight weeks is like free. I think maybe a lot of parents just don’t know how cheap it is. I think that is as cheap as it gets and you still don’t get a lot of swimmers.” Representative of several free/reduced cost swim lessons available in many of the survey areas, at one YMCA location swimming lessons are built into the daycare curriculum for 3- to 5-year-olds, but as one respondent points out, “60% of the parents still resist their kids participation in swimming. There is still this push back and resistance.”	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis
Swim facility availability not found to be an issue contributing to swim ability. When tested against other variables under investigation swim facility proximity and access items (e.g. There is a pool/swimming site close to where I live) were not found to be significant contributors to swim ability. 60% of respondents indicated the nearest pool site was in good condition. 66% of the respondents indicated they (or child) feel safe at nearest pool. 67% of the respondents indicated the nearest pool is easily accessed. 36% of the respondents indicated the nearest pool was open all year (38% were uncertain). A majority of the respondents indicated it is easy for them to get to the nearest pool. A majority of respondents indicated they feel safe at that pool UNLESS certain people are there. A majority of the respondents do not feel safe GOING to the nearest pool from home alone. Free/reduced lunch recipients were significantly more inclined to disagree that the nearest pool was easy to access. As one Black/African American Boston interviewee offered dispelling that pool availability and access are not the issue, “Even though you have these areas (to swim) I still think its culture and what you see on TV. You see a lot more Caucasian kids or adults loving the beach, loving the water you know what I mean? Being fish like. A lot of things play into this it’s not just the statistics; it has to do with life, I do believe that.”	2010 USA Swimming, Irwin, C., Irwin, R., Martin, N. & Ross, S. Department of Health & Sport Sciences @ The University of Memphis