As summer swim season heats up, it’s important that parents and caregivers take the necessary steps to keep children safer in and around the pool. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released its annual drowning and submersion report, reaffirming how these simple safety measures can help to prevent drownings and save lives.
CPSC’s new data say that from 2020 and 2022, an average of 357 children under the age of 15 fatally drowned in pool- or spa-related incidents each year, with those aged 1-3 years accounting for 68% of the reported fatalities in the same time frame. For incidents where the location was known, most of these incidents (85%) occurred in a residential setting such as a backyard pool, although this shifts to public pools for children older than 4 years old. The months of May, June, July, and August consistently had the largest numbers of fatal drownings across all age groups.
With fatal drownings occurring most frequently in residential settings and among children ages 1-3 years old, you can take these simple steps to help keep your family safe while still enjoying fun in the sun:
- Install Barriers: Barriers, such as door alarms, pool covers, self-closing, self-latching devices on fence gates, and pool fencing can help to prevent an unsupervised child from accessing the pool.
- Designate a Water Watcher: Ensure that a parent or guardian is supervising children while in and around pools and spas. These individuals should not be texting, calling, reading, or otherwise distracted. We suggest switching this duty every 15 minutes so the Water Watcher can stay focused and everyone can relax.
- Teach Children to Swim: By teaching younger children how to swim, they can be more confident in and around pools.
- Take a CPR Class: Parents and guardians can become CPR certified for both adults and children through in-person and online training programs.
- Inspect Drain Covers: Make certain that your pool has a drain cover that complies with the Virginia Graeme Baker Act to prevent drain entrapments. Further, teach children to keep away from drains.
The incidents reported demonstrate the need for implementing these pool safety measures, particularly for our little ones. From 2022 to 2024, an average of 6,300 children under the age of 15 were treated by an emergency department each year for nonfatal drowning injuries. Seventy-three percent of these visits were for children under the age of five.
By educating your children on pool safety, equipping yourself with tools such as CPR certification, and implementing safety features such as pool barriers and drain covers, we can all do our part to help prevent childhood drowning.
For more information about tips to Pool Safely, visit: https://www.poolsafely.gov/parents/safety-tips/ and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X.