Summer is a beautiful time in Connecticut, but it is also one of the most dangerous seasons for children. One second you’re grabbing sunscreen, and the next a child silently slips underwater.

For children ages 1–4, drowning is the leading cause of death; for ages 5–14, it is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle accidents. Drowning is preventable and it’s critical for state lawmakers to take action to ensure swim lessons are affordable and available to all children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends swim lessons as an added layer of protection that can begin as early as age 1. I grew up in a Connecticut community that provided swim lessons and I later became a lifeguard who taught those lessons. These experiences taught me swimming was not just recreational, but lifesaving.

Inevitably, in a person’s life they will encounter a body of water. Toddlers are enticed by the beautiful blue waters, teenagers joke around and push each other, schools take boat trips to learn about marine life, and families go on vacation. Swim lessons provide protection and critical seconds for parents or lifeguards to intervene. By financing and supporting legislation to increase accessibility to swim lessons, we can help address drowning as a leading preventable cause of death.

The Connecticut legislature is currently reviewing Raised Bill No. 263 that would require the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to establish and administer an annual program to provide free-of-charge swimming lessons to children. The program would be available to individuals under seventeen years of age who live in a qualified census track and meet financial requirements, including qualifying for SNAP or WIC benefits.

This bill highlights children who are disproportionately affected by socioeconomic and racial disparities. According to the AAP, Black children have the highest drowning fatality rates, followed in order by American Indian and/or Alaskan Native, White, Asian American and/or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic children.

The CDC reports drowning disparities are highest among Black children ages 5-9 (rates 2.6 times higher than white children) and ages 10-14 (rates 3.6 times higher). Achieving swim competency requires multiple swim lessons, which can be inaccessible to families due to cost, transportation, or accessibility. As a community pediatrician who gives counseling on water safety, I regularly hear from families who face these challenges and share their own fears of not knowing how to swim.

Raised Bill No. 263 would address these disparities and give parents an added opportunity to protect their children.

Raised Bill No. 263 is essential to increasing safety in Connecticut children, especially for those in our more underserved communities. Expanding access to swim lessons will help children build skills, support families in water safety, and strengthen communities.

I strongly encourage legislators to support and be involved with this bill. We all want to create safe futures for our children and teaching important life skills such as swimming will help to do so. I implore you to think about your own children and what you would do to secure their futures.

Drowning is preventable and together, we can work to decrease the risk in our Connecticut communities.

Lillian James MD lives in New London.