Water Safety for Adults: Know Your Limits

Adults stay safer in the water by being honest about their skills, wearing a life jacket when the water or the activity calls for it, never swimming alone, and keeping alcohol out of the water. If you never learned to swim, or never learned well, you are far from alone, and it is not too late to learn.

There's no shame in any of this. Plenty of confident, capable adults never had the chance to learn, often for reasons that had nothing to do with them.

Adults drown too

Adults drown too, and in large numbers. CDC counts over 4,500 drowning deaths a year in the United States from 2020 to 2022 (opens in a new tab). At U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes and rivers in 2024, 87% of the people who drowned were adults (opens in a new tab), and 91% weren't wearing a life jacket.

Adult drowning rates are not lower than teen rates. In 2022, CDC measured 1.1 deaths per 100,000 among people aged 15 to 24, and 1.2 to 1.5 in every adult age group from 25 to 64 (opens in a new tab), rising higher after 65.

What drives adult risk:

• Natural water. CDC says almost half of fatal drownings among people 15 and older happen in lakes, rivers or oceans (opens in a new tab).
• Alcohol. Among teens and adults, alcohol is involved in up to 70% of deaths linked to water recreation (opens in a new tab).
• Being male. CDC reports that nearly 80% of people who die from drowning are male (opens in a new tab). See why boys and men drown more often.

An honest check of your skills

40 million

The same CDC survey found that more than half of adults (54.7%) have never taken a swimming lesson (opens in a new tab), and only 35.8% said they can swim multiple strokes efficiently.

Many people who say they can swim can't do all of the basic skills. In a 2020 Red Cross survey, 85% of Americans said they could swim, but only 56% of those self-described swimmers could perform all five basic skills (opens in a new tab) that might save their life.

Those five skills, from the Red Cross's definition of water competency (opens in a new tab), are:

1. Enter water that's over your head, then return to the surface.
2. Float or tread water for at least 1 minute.
3. Turn over and turn around in the water.
4. Swim at least 25 yards.
5. Exit the water.

Test yourself somewhere safe: a lifeguarded pool, with a buddy, starting in water where you can stand. The Red Cross also says to know your limitations, including physical fitness and medical conditions (opens in a new tab). Keep in mind that pool skills don't fully carry over: the National Weather Service warns that swimming in a pool is not the same as swimming at a surf beach (opens in a new tab), where waves, wind and currents use up your energy fast.

For more on each skill, see water competency: the five skills.

Life jackets aren't just for kids

CDC says life jackets reduce the risk of drowning while boating for people of all ages and swimming abilities (opens in a new tab), and that weaker swimmers of all ages can use them in and around natural water and swimming pools (opens in a new tab).

The boating numbers are stark. Where life jacket use was known, 87% of people who drowned in 2024 boating incidents were not wearing one (opens in a new tab) (U.S. Coast Guard).

Getting the right one:

• Read the label. The Coast Guard says to check the label for user weight and chest size (opens in a new tab), and try the jacket on in the water to make sure your airway stays clear.
• Snug, not loose. A foam jacket that fits won't ride up above your chin or ears.
• Know the inflatable limits. The Coast Guard says inflatable life jackets are not appropriate for weak or non-swimmers (opens in a new tab).

More in how to choose the right life jacket.

Supervising children while you swim

Many adults are in the water as the person in charge. Two rules make that safer:

• Close enough to touch. The AAP recommends that a supervising adult with swimming skills stay within arm's length and provide touch supervision (opens in a new tab) for any infant, toddler or weak swimmer in or around water. If you can't swim, you can still be an alert watcher from the side, but team up with an adult who can swim for the in-water job.
• One job at a time. You can't do laps and watch kids. Pool Safely says a Water Watcher's supervision should be their only task (opens in a new tab). When you want to swim, hand the job to another adult, out loud.

CDC adds: don't drink alcohol while supervising children (opens in a new tab). And learn CPR; see where to learn CPR.

Learning now

The AAP's message to parents who never learned is simple: you're not alone, and it's not too late (opens in a new tab). It also notes that segregated pools and beaches kept generations of African American adults from getting quality lessons. Learning matters for your family, too: the AAP notes that many children from lower-income households lack good swimming skills, often because their parents never learned (opens in a new tab).

Places to start:

• NYC Parks Learn to Swim offers free classes for adults and seniors (opens in a new tab) at indoor pools in fall, winter and spring, given out by lottery. Indoor classes need a recreation center membership. See free swim lessons in NYC.
• American Red Cross Adult Swim has three levels, from learning the basics to swimming for fitness (opens in a new tab), taught at local pools.
• U.S. Masters Swimming runs an Adult Learn-to-Swim instructor search (opens in a new tab) by ZIP code.

Nervous about the water itself? Read how adults overcome fear of the water, then where to start with adult lessons. The Adult Swim Lesson Guide has questions to ask a program.

What you can do today

1. Be honest with yourself. Which of the five skills can you do today, in deep water? Write it down.
2. Get a life jacket that fits you, and keep it with your beach or boat gear.
3. Make a buddy rule. Never swim alone, and never in open water after drinking.
4. Look up one adult class near you and put the registration date in your calendar.
5. Book a CPR class. If you supervise children, it's the skill you most want and least want to need.

Over 65, or caring for an older parent? Read water safety for older adults.