AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released new data based on media reports compiled by the USA Swimming Foundation showing Texas had the deadliest rate of child pool and spa drownings in 2019 for children ages 15 and under.
CPSC said according to the data, there were 34 media-reported fatal child drownings in pools and spas in Texas in 2019, compared to 23 in Florida, 19 in California, 14 in Ohio and 13 in Arizona.
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The data shows at least 221 children ages 15 and under drowned in a pool or spa nationwide in 2019, according to CPSC.
CPSC said this is the second consecutive year the number of media-reported fatal drownings have decreased.
CPSC tabulated this data as a part of its Pool Safely campaign. CPSC offered the following tips to parents to help keep children safe while swimming:
- Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your children closely around all bodies of water.
- Designate a water watcher to supervise children in the pool or spa. This person should not be reading, using a smartphone or be otherwise distracted.
- Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.
- Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults.
- Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid getting trapped.
- Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards, and if you do not know, ask your pool service provider about safe drain covers and ask your public pool if its drains are “VGB compliant.”
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More information on water safety can be found on the Pool Safely campaign's website.
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