Obstacles to swimming lessons contribute to tragedies

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Newswise – Summer 2021 will be the first time many people will venture into the water after the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago highlighted the need for families to practice water safety and teach children about safety around pools and at the beach. The consequences of poor water safety preparation have been fatal; 53 people drowned last year in Lake Michigan, and drownings in the Great Lakes reached their highest number in a decade in 2020.

Lurie Children’s latest Voices of Child Health in Chicago report looked at the experiences of swimming lessons and water safety among parents and children in Chicago.

In Chicago, with many free beaches and public pools, swimming skills and caution are essential. The top three reasons parents gave for not having their children swimming lessons were cost (35%), lack of time (22%) and inability to find lessons (21%). Other parents noted that they had taught their children to swim or that they had not sent their children to classes due to the pandemic.

The vast majority of white parents (96%) said they could swim, followed by Asian / other parents (83%), black parents (73%) and Latin parents (68%). A similar pattern was reflected across racial and ethnic lines for children, with 70 percent of white parents saying their children had classes, in addition to 63 percent of Asian / other parents teaching their children. , and 45 percent of black and Latin parents whose children were taking classes.

“Water safety skills are essential, especially for black youth who drown five times faster than white youth. Lots of people can’t wait to get back to swimming, and we hope all parents take action with a combination of supervision and education to keep their children safer in the water, ”says study co-author Michelle Macy, MD. , MS, emergency physician and Scientific Director of Community, Population Health, and Outcomes at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Lurie Children’s. Children’s swimming abilities were also associated with a family’s household income. For children whose families live below the federal poverty line ($ 26,500 for a family of four), 38% were able to float on their backs for 30 seconds without assistance, compared to 51% of children in middle-income households. and 64% of children. from high income households. Floating for 30 seconds is a key survival skill that can reduce the risk of drowning.

Taken together, the survey results on financial barriers to swimming lessons and safe flotation highlight low household income as a barrier to safe swimming. Fortunately, survey responses indicated that children’s ability to swim increases as they get older. By the time teens turned 12 and older, 65 percent could swim the length of a pool without a flotation device.

“Swimming is one of the most important life skills that children and adults alike need to master. Whether it’s for fun or for exercise, swimming will serve them well for the rest of their lives, and it’s never too early to start learning, ”says Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, President Lurie Children’s Department of Medicine, Executive Vice President and Head of Community Health Transformation at the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities at Lurie Children’s, and Chair of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “I couldn’t swim when I was a kid and I learned as an adult to stay safe in the water. “

Drowning happens quickly and silently. Dr. Macy offers the following tips to help keep children safe in the water:

• Learn CPR, first aid and swimming basics such as reaching the surface, floating, moving in the water.

• Always stay within easy reach of young children and weak swimmers.

• Designate a “water watcher,” who will watch children in the water and will not be distracted.

• Know the signs of drowning, such as shortness of breath, head tilted back, floating on your stomach. • Check for weather updates before you go.

• At the beach, take the following precautions: o Heed warning flags and beach patrol, and swim only in the presence of lifeguards.

o Stay clear of structural and return currents, which are common in Lake Michigan. Running perpendicular to the shore, return currents are often identified by water without surging between bodies of water with breaking waves of flowing water.

o Stay away from high waves approaching quickly as they leave little time to resurface if you get knocked over. Two-foot waves can knock a little one over.

o Protect children in lakes, oceans and swimming pools with US Coast Guard approved life jackets, even if they can swim.

o Pack lots of sunscreen, insect repellent, bandages, and clean water. Also, make sure you have your medical insurance card, cell phone, and emergency contact information handy.

The survey results are based on data from the Voices of Child Health in Chicago parent panel survey. The survey is conducted exclusively by NORC at the University of Chicago for Lurie Children’s and is administered to parents in Chicago three times a year via the Internet and telephone surveys. The data in this report comes from Wave 2 of the survey, collected between November 2020 and February 2021, from 1,505 Chicago parents from Chicago’s 77 community neighborhoods and weighted to be representative of households with children across the city.

Population-based child health research at Lurie Children’s is conducted by the Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute is focused on improving the health of children, transforming pediatric medicine, and securing a healthier future through the relentless pursuit of new knowledge. Lurie Children’s is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals in US News & World Report and is the pediatric education affiliate of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 221,000 children from 47 states and 30 countries.

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