| My wife, it can be revealed, never learned to swim, | | | | compared with 53 percent of the same-aged children |
| despite spending most of her life living in beach | | | | in the 79 control group families. (While these results |
| communities. As a form of parental compensation for | | | | suggest that formal swimming instruction in children |
| my wife's lack of comfort in an aquatic environment, | | | | aged 5 years or older decreases the risk of |
| our two young children have been charged with | | | | accidental drowning, the results in this age group |
| learning to swim from a very early age. Of course, | | | | were not statistically significant, unlike the results |
| this makes perfect sense to me as well, given that | | | | observed for the younger children.) At the same |
| we continue to live near the beach. However, due to | | | | time, when the researchers looked at unstructured or |
| the not very infrequent tragic stories of young | | | | otherwise informal swimming instruction as a risk |
| children drowning in family pools, I have sometimes | | | | factor for accidental drowning, they found absolutely |
| worried that increasing our young children's comfort | | | | no association between informal instruction and |
| levels in the water could expose them to an | | | | drowning rates in children and adolescents. |
| increased risk of a pool-related accidents, due to | | | | The results of this retrospective case-control study |
| overconfidence on their part. I was, therefore, quite | | | | identified a whopping 88 percent reduction in the risk |
| relieved to find a newly published research study on | | | | of accidental drowning among 1 to 4 year-old children |
| this very topic, which appears in the current volume | | | | who had undergone formal swimming instruction, |
| of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. | | | | when compared to same-age toddlers who had |
| In this retrospective case-control study, the authors | | | | either never undergone formal instruction or who had |
| reviewed cases of drowning deaths occurring in | | | | undergone only informal, unstructured swimming |
| children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and | | | | instruction. While the retrospective case-control |
| 19 years in the states of Maryland, North Carolina, | | | | methodology used for this study is not as powerful |
| Florida, California, Texas, and New York. The | | | | as would be observed in a prospective clinical |
| researchers then interviewed a sample of 88 families | | | | research trial, this study's findings do reassure me |
| of children and teens, from these same states, who | | | | that there is most likely some significant benefit |
| had died in drowning accidents. A control group of | | | | associated with formal swimming lessons in younger |
| 213 families who had not experienced the tragic loss | | | | children. |
| of a child was also interviewed. The results and | | | | Selection biases, as well as other potential sources of |
| conclusions of this innovative clinical study were | | | | bias, are difficult to eliminate in these types of clinical |
| rather striking (and personally reassuring to me). | | | | studies, and so the absolute benefit of swimming |
| Of the 61 families who lost a child between the ages | | | | lessons is likely to be less than the 88 percent level |
| of 1 and 4 years to drowning, only 3 percent had | | | | reported by this retrospective study. However, when |
| enrolled their lost child in swimming lessons, while 26 | | | | one is considering even potentially modest reductions |
| percent of the control group families with children in | | | | in the risk of losing one's child to accidental drowning, |
| this same age range had enrolled their toddlers in | | | | there is no such thing as a trivial level of risk |
| formal swimming lessons. Among the 27 families that | | | | reduction, in my view. So, our young children will |
| had lost children between the ages of 5 and 19 years | | | | definitely be continuing with their swimming lessons at |
| to drowning accidents, 27 percent had enrolled their | | | | our friendly neighborhood YMCA. |
| deceased children in formal swimming lessons, | | | | |