Kids swimming lessons dropped during COVID pandemic, researchers say

BOSTON – Many children missed out on swimming lessons during the pandemic, a new study has found. 
It’s estimated that nearly a thousand kids and teens die from drowning each year. 
Researchers at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago surveyed more than a thousand parents there and found that nearly three out of four kids had no swimming lessons in the summer of 2022. 
Black and Hispanic/Latino kids were disproportionately affected. Reasons included the parents themselves not being comfortable with swimming and the cost.  
Kids who can’t swim grow up to be adults who can’t swim. According to the CDC, two out of three Black adults and three out of four Hispanic/Latino adults don’t know how to swim compared to less than half of white adults. 
Researchers are calling on new approaches to fill the gap and targeted outreach and expanded programming to offer swimming lessons to elementary-age kids and teens who may not want to take lessons with preschoolers.