05/18/2026
🛟May is National Water Safety Month! 💦
As more community & residential pools begin to open in our area for the summer swim season, we want to remind our families that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1 and 4. About 4,000 people in the U.S. die from drowning each year, the agency states.
The new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics highlight six key points for parents and caregivers to keep in mind:
🛟Be aware of drowning hazards and supervise children in, on, and around water. Young children should never be left alone or with other kids in or near bathtubs, pools, spas, or in or near flowing or standing water, even momentarily.
🛟A supervising adult with swimming skills should always be within arm's length of kids and provide touch supervision for an infant, toddler, or weak swimmer who is in or around water.
🛟Children should receive swimming lessons as early as after their first birthday. There is no evidence that infant swim lessons reduce drowning incidents.
🛟Children near water, non-swimmers, and those riding on boats should wear Coast Guard-approved life jackets, and adults should model their use.
🛟Fencing requirements, life jacket regulations, lifeguard standards, and safe natural-water designations and other related laws and regulations are proven strategies to reduce drowning deaths.
🛟Caregivers and teenagers should learn CPR and know how to perform safe rescue.
The American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations to prevent drownings ahead of summer.
