More Kids Are Drowning, Pediatricians Warn: What To Know In WI

Doctors and others are sounding an alarm Wisconsin parents should take to heart: More U.S. children have been drowning in recent years.

“When drowning occurs, seconds matter,” Dr. Rohit Shenoi, the lead author of a recent American Academy of Pediatrics warning, told The Associated Press. “Quick rescue and resuscitation can mean the difference between life, death and lifelong disability.”

About 4,000 to 5,000 Americans drown each year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Most are adults who die in natural bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds or oceans. But statistically speaking, drowning is a much greater danger to children. It’s the No. 1 cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4, and one of the top killers of children ages 5 to 14.

What’s Happening In Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s annual age-adjusted unintentional drowning death rate was 1.12 deaths per 100,000 people during 2018–2021, compared with the U.S. average of 1.31 per 100,000. An age-adjusted rate accounts for differences in the age makeup of each state’s population, making it a more accurate way to compare drowning risk across states.

Why Are More Kids Drowning?

Unintentional child drowning deaths in the U.S. fell from around 2,000 a year in the 1980s to below 1,000 a year by the early 2000s, thanks in part to public awareness campaigns, expanded access to swimming lessons, and adoption of pool fencing laws. Between 2000 and 2019, health officials saw a 38 percent drop.

But then the trend reversed, with the number of child drowning deaths rising from 756 in 2019 to 865 in 2024, the most recent year for which complete data is available. The bulk of them were children younger than 5. The child drowning death rate also increased slightly, from 1.1 to 1.2 per 100,000 children.

What Happened?

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted swimming lessons and lifeguard training programs, and contributed to a national lifeguard shortage. Meanwhile, some data suggests an increase in swimming pool construction and increases in unsupervised swimming, said Tessa Clemens, the CDC Foundation’s senior director for drowning prevention initiatives.

Some possible good news: Preliminary U.S. data for last year suggests child drownings declined. But it's not clear whether that’s the start of a trend, and the deaths still remain higher compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, Clemens said.

Pediatricians Push Regulations

Inventors have recognized a need for child water safety measures, and recent years have seen the emergence of immersion alarms that sound if the wristband a child is wearing goes underwater. But manufacturers of such devices note they can serve as an extra warning system but should not be considered a primary way to keep children safe.

The CDC laid off Clemens and the rest of the staff of its drowning prevention program last year. But new guidance and drowning prevention support continues to come out of other organizations, including the CDC Foundation and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A CDC Foundation program has paid for basic swimming and water safety skills training for over 35,000 students since 2024. The program operates in 11 states with higher drowning rates: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Ways To Prevent Drowning

The American Academy of Pediatrics says research shows that policies can make a difference, including lifeguard standards, life jacket regulations and requirements that swimming pools be completely surrounded by fences with self-closing, self-latching gates.

Stew Leonard and his wife, Kim, founded the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation after their 21-month-old son, Stewie, drowned in a swimming pool during a family vacation on the island of St. Martin in 1989. Leonard operates stores in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

Drownings of very young children sometimes occur in bathtubs. But most, like Stewie’s, occur in swimming pools.

Stewie's family was hosting a birthday party for his 3-year-old sister, with relatives gathered around the house and pool. His father assumed his mother was watching Stewie, while his mother assumed his father was.

“When everyone's watching, nobody's watching,” Kim Leonard told the AP.

By the time the family realized Stewie was missing, he had already drowned. His father found him face-down in the pool.

‘In The Blink Of An Eye’

Stew Leonard emphasizes two important approaches to prevent drownings — swimming lessons for young kids and complete focus by caregivers when young children are around water.

“I mean, I love ballet. I love karate. I love tennis lessons. You know, all the activities that kids can do,” he told the AP. “But the only thing you can do to save their life is put them in swimming lessons."

His foundation has funded over 250,000 swimming lessons for children and opened two swimming schools — one of them across the street from his company's headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, and the other in Clifton, New Jersey.

Also, “shut your cellphones off when you're around the pool, watching the kids. Don't sit there reading a book. Don't sit there talking to your friends, neglecting your child that's near the water,” he said.

“This happens in the blink of an eye.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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