Although Disparities Still Exist, More Kids Know How to Swim

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The summer swim seasons begins this weekend for most of the country, but many kids have no to low swim ability. In fact, 40% of Caucasian children, 45% of Hispanic children, and nearly 64% of African-American children have no to low swimming ability, according to a new study conducted by the University of Memphis and University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Although there is a 5-10% improvement in overall swimming ability, 87% of kids with no or low swim ability plan to go swimming this summer at least once, putting them at risk for drowning.

What can your community do to boost support for swimming lessons to prevent the horrific tragedy of drowning?

Learn more about the complexities of swimming:

• Swimming may be the most promising physical activity to get Latino kid’s active.
• Segregation contributes to inequalities in public spending on goods like parks & pools.
• Swimming makes kids smarter.

Learn from other communities:

• This teacher helps bring water safety classes to her special needs students.
• A foster mom mobilized effort to save pool in low-Income neighborhood from being cemented over.
• This program provides vouchers to teach kid’s under five water safety. 

Spread the word:

• 76% of parents say their kids wld be more likely to swim if they saw a talented swimmer that looked like them.  salud.to/2qX1oIk
• 79% of kids in families living on less than $50,000 have no/low swimming ability. #SaludAmerica salud.to/2qX1oIk
• Swimming isn’t just about recreation, it’s about equity and health. #SaludAmerica salud.to/2qX1oIk
• ALL kids deserve safe places to play, including the water. #SaludAmerica salud.to/2qX1oIk
• Kids who qualify for free/reduced lunch are 63% less likely to have good swimming ability. #SaludAmerica salud.to/2qX1oIk