CPSC Calls for Increased Water Safety Vigilance After Two Years of Pandemic Summers
WASHINGTON – The annual drowning and submersion report released today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows fatal child drownings and nonfatal drowning injuries in children under age 15 remain high. CPSC urges families to make water safety a priority, particularly as children ages 5-14 return to community pools and summer camps, following two summers when COVID precautions kept kids away. Child drownings continue to be the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 4 years old.
CPSC’s latest data for the U.S. show:
“Child drowning rates and nonfatal drowning injuries among children under 15 years old remain high, and water safety vigilance is as important as ever this summer for parents and caregivers,” said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. “Whether a child is playing in a community pool, a neighbor’s pool, or your own, we urge parents and caregivers to prepare their children for water-related activities by reviewing Pool Safely tips and signing up for swim lessons this summer. Working together, we can help reduce pool- and spa-related fatalities.”
On average, from 2019 through 2021, 80 percent of children treated in emergency departments for pool- or spa-related, nonfatal drowning injuries were younger than 5 years of age. Where known, 73 percent of nonfatal incidents in children under age 5 that led to emergency room visits occurred at a residence, compared to nearly 27 percent that occurred in a public location. Two-thirds of reported fatal child drownings in pools or spas occurred in residential settings such as the victim’s home, the house of a family member or friend, or a neighbor’s residence.
Parents and caregivers can follow Pool Safely’s simple steps to keep children safer in and around the water:
You can read the full CPSC drowning and entrapment reports by visiting PoolSafely .gov .
Note: CPSC’s report addresses nonfatal drownings for the period 2019 through 2021 and fatal drownings for the period 2017 through 2019, reflecting a lag in the reporting of fatal drowning statistics.
About the U.S. CPSC The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.
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