Parents Warned of the Dangers of Kids and Pools
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Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — As we head into the summer pool season, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a warning for parents: Pools can be deadly, especially for small children.
The CPSC says kids younger than five and children of color face the greatest dangers.
Children under 5 years old represent more than 75 percent of all child drowning deaths in the U.S.
And black children older than 5 years old are six times more likely to drown in pools than white and Hispanic kids. The report cites data from USA Swimming, the national governing body of competitive swimming, which claims 62 percent of Hispanic children and 70 percent of African American children don’t know how to swim and that makes them more likely to drown.
The report says all kids should have swim lessons, and all pools should have fences.
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