May is National Water Safety Month, a reminder that while water can bring joy, it can also pose serious risks, especially for children. Across the United States, drowning remains one of the leading causes of death for childrenThis link will open in a new tab., with more than 4,000 unintentional deaths each year.
For many families, those risks are even greater. African American/Black children between the ages of 10 and 14 are more than seven times as likely to drown in swimming poolsThis link will open in a new tab. as white children their age. For families of children living with sickle cell disease (SCD) – a condition that primarily affects African American/Black individuals – the challenges can be even more complex, including safety concerns, limited access to appropriate swim programs, and longstanding misconceptions about whether swimming is safe at all.