Report highlights importance of pool safety to prevent children from drowning

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As summer temperatures rise so does the traffic at pools and spas. Unfortunately, the number of drownings for children under 15 across the country is high and affects a disproportional number of minorities. 

According to a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the number of estimated non-fatal drowning injuries in 2022 was 6,400, which was the same as in 2021. However, this was higher than the three-year average of 6,300. 

The number of deadly drownings for children younger than 5 increased from 254 in 2019 to 279 in 2020.  

Between 2018 and 2020, 75% of the reported number of fatal drownings involved children five years old or younger. The majority of these drownings occurred at a home such as that of the victim's family member, friend or neighbor. Only 9% of drownings for children younger than 5 occurred outside of a residential setting. 

“Make sure you have a door alarm, fence alarm, or even a pool alarm or pool cover, CPSC Pool Safety Campaign leader Nikki Fleming told ABC 17. “We encourage multiple layers of protection to protect your child.”

Fleming added that the majority of drownings occur when a child enters the pool unsupervised during non-swimming hours.

The report also highlighted a blunt racial disparity in fatal drownings. 

Out of the 63% of all drowning fatalities involving children whose race is identified, African American children made up 21% of those, according to the report  

For children aged 5 to 14, 45% of identified drowning deaths involved African Americans. The CPSC says these numbers place an extra emphasis on the need to reach historically excluded communities with water safety information and support. 

“Out of the 63 percent of child fatal drownings where race was known about 21 percent of those drownings were to african american children so it’s so important to get the information to all families but especially those who are disproportionately affected and in this case over-represented," Fleming says.

The report says these findings are not definitive, given the high proportion of unspecified ethnicities and races.

Tips the CPSC gives to parents and guardians to prevent children from drowning include:

• Never leave a child unattended in or near water, and always designate an adult "water watcher." This person should not be reading, texting, using a phone or otherwise distracted. In addition to pools and spas, this warning includes bathtubs, buckets, decorative ponds and fountains.
• If you own a pool or spa, install layers of protection, including barriers to prevent an unsupervised child from accessing the water. Homes can use door alarms, pool covers and self-closing, self-latching devices on fence gates and doors that access pools.
• Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults. Many communities offer online CPR training.
• Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.
• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes, and other openings to avoid entrapments.
• Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards. If you do not know, ask your pool service provider about safer drain covers.

Joanne Macher who owns the Macher Swim School has been teaching swim lessons in Columbia for over 50 years. She says one of the best ways to protect children is to monitor them at all times when they are in the pool.

“Over my lifetime I’ve made many rescues. Very few of them were in my pool,” Macher said. “Cause I believe whoever is supervising the pool, they need to be in control of the pool. They’re not just sitting there as quote a lifeguard if something horrible happens they are going to be preventing something horrible from happening.”

She adds that learning CPR is another great way to prevent children from drowning.