#1
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4.
It happens most often in home pools, and layers of protection help prevent it.
Source: CDC
The facts
Drowning is fast, silent, and preventable.
Every number here is a child and a family. We use the most current data from trusted public health sources, link to every one, and end with what works.
Young children
376
Children under 15 lost to pool or spa drownings each year, on average (2021–2023).
Nearly 80% of them were younger than 5.
Source: CPSC, 2026 report
12–36 mo
Toddlers between 1 and 3 years old are at the highest risk.
They are newly mobile, curious, and drawn to water, but have no sense of danger.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
Across the country
4,500+
Lives lost to unintentional drowning each year in the U.S. (2020–2022).
That’s about 500 more each year than in 2019.
Source: CDC Vital Signs, 2024
#2
Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional-injury death for children ages 5–14, after car crashes.
Source: CDC
7.6×
Black children ages 10–14 drown in swimming pools at 7.6 times the rate of White children.
Access to swim lessons is a big part of that gap.
Source: CDC
Nonfatal drowning
Many children survive a drowning. Some recover completely. Others, like Adam, live with injuries that last a lifetime, such as brain injury or permanent disability.
8,000+
Emergency department visits for nonfatal drowning in the U.S. each year (2012–2021 average).
Source: CDC
~40%
Nearly 4 in 10 drownings treated in emergency departments need hospital admission or transfer for more care, about 4 times the rate for all unintentional injuries.
Source: CDC
5,900
Estimated ER-treated nonfatal pool and spa drowning injuries each year among children under 15 (2023–2025).
Source: CPSC, 2026 report
How it happens
Silent
Drowning happens in seconds and is often silent.
There is usually no splashing or calling for help. Young children can drown in an inch or two of water.
69%
Of young children who drowned in pools weren’t expected to be at or in the pool.
And 77% had been missing for 5 minutes or less (CPSC study, late-1980s data).
Source: CPSC
What protects children
The good news: drowning is preventable, and the layers of protection work best together.
83%
Lower odds of drowning with a fence that isolates the pool on all four sides, compared with three-sided fencing.
When the house is one side of the fence, a toddler can walk straight out the back door to the water.
Arm’s reach
Toddlers and weak swimmers need an adult within arm’s reach, “touch supervision,” whenever they’re in or near water.
Name a Water Watcher so there’s never a question of who’s watching.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
Age 1+
Swim lessons starting after age 1 are linked to a lower drowning risk for young children.
The benefit is real but hard to size precisely, and lessons never replace supervision or barriers.
Source: AAP; Brenner et al., 2009
CPR
Fast CPR with rescue breaths matters after a drowning. Our mom started CPR on Adam right away.
Take an infant and child CPR class, and renew it every two years.
A note on words.We say nonfatal drowning, not “near-drowning.” And “dry drowning” and “secondary drowning” aren’t medical terms. If a child has trouble breathing, keeps coughing, or seems unusually sleepy or confused after being in the water, get medical care right away.
Facts don’t save lives. People do.
Put the layers of protection in place today.