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FACTS ABOUT
CHILDREN AND DROWNING
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| WHAT: | Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children ages 10-14 years. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is the leading cause of injury death and the second-leading cause of overall death in toddlers ages 12-23 months. For infants less than 1 year, drowning is the third leading cause of death. |
| WHO: |  Each year, more than 830 children ages 14 and under died as a result of accidental drowning. Children age four and under account for more than 60 percent of these deaths.
In 2006, near-drowning incidents in the pool were responsible for 3,703 injuries to children less than five years of age. More than 4,000 children will be treated in hospital emergency rooms around the country annually for drowning-related incidents. For every child age 14 and younger who drowns, three other children receive emergency-level care for injuries sustained during submersion in water, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 40 percent of these children require hospitalization. Approximately 15 percent of children admitted to hospitals for near-drowning die, while another 20 percent will suffer severe and permanent brain damage. |
| WHEN: | Nine of 10 drowning-related deaths occurred while a child was "reportedly" being supervised.
In the summer, between May and August, drowning deaths among children increase 89 percent over the rest of the year. |
| WHERE: | More than half of childhood drownings in pools occur in the child's home pool. Most of these children were last seen in the home, had been missing from sight for less than five minutes and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of drowning.
Among children ages four and under, there are about 300 residential swimming pool drownings nationwide each year. Approximately 75 percent of pool submersion deaths and 60 percent of pool submersion injuries occur at a home. Drownings for most infants under the age of one are in bathtubs, most often when the child is unsupervised. Other drownings in this age group tend to occur in toilets and buckets. Recreational boating accidents caused 11 drowning deaths in 2004; more than half of the children were not wearing personal floatation devices or life jackets. |
| PREVENTION: | Research shows that 88 percent of children who drowned were reportedly under the supervision of an adult. While better supervision is critical, the study also found that many adults had not properly fenced their pools, required use of personal flotation devices (PFDs), or taught their children how to swim.
Never leave a child unsupervised in or around water in the home. Always actively supervise children in and around water. Don't leave, even for a moment. Stay where you can see, hear and reach kids in water. Avoid talking on the phone, preparing a meal, reading and other distractions. Install four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high, that completely surrounds swimming pools or spas. Four-sided isolation fencing around home pools could prevent 50-90 percent of childhood drownings and near-drownings. When used properly, door alarms, pool alarms and automatic pool covers add extra protection. Always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved Personal flotation device when on a boat, near open bodies of water or when participating in water sports. From 1999 to 2003, it is estimated that 85 percent of boating-related drownings could have been prevented if the child had been wearing a personal flotation device. In 2003, 62 percent of children ages 14 and under who drowned in reported recreational boating accidents were not wearing PFDs or life jackets. Air-filled swimming aids, such as water wings and inner tubes, are not safety devices and should never be substituted for PFDs. Learn CPR and keep rescue equipment (like a lifesaving ring), a telephone and emergency phone numbers poolside. Pool drains are an often-overlooked drowning hazard.
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| *Sources: Safe Kids Worldwide, National Safety Council, KidsHealth, www.etch.com | |
Children's Hospital's Healthy Kids program offers regular classes on CPR certification. For more information or to sign up for classes, call the Children's Hospital Community Relations Office at (865) 541-8165.
