Child drowning deaths in U.S. reverse decades of decline

Pediatricians push pool fencing, lifeguard standards in response

Unintentional child drowning deaths in the United States have risen since 2019, reversing a decades-long decline and drawing renewed warnings from pediatricians and public health organizations.

Between 2000 and 2019, the number of child drowning deaths fell by 38%, driven by public awareness campaigns, expanded access to swimming lessons, and adoption of pool fencing laws, according to health officials. But from 2019 to 2024, annual deaths climbed from 756 to 865, the most recent year for which complete data is available, officials said. The death rate increased from 1.1 to 1.2 per 100,000 children. The bulk of victims were younger than 5.

Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and among the top killers of children ages 5 to 14. The drowning rate is higher for white children in the younger age group, but substantially higher for Black, American Indian and Alaska Native children in the older group, according to the data.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the increase, according to Tessa Clemens, senior director for drowning prevention initiatives at the CDC Foundation. Pandemic-era disruptions interrupted swimming lessons and lifeguard training programs and contributed to a national lifeguard shortage, she said. At the same time, some data suggests an increase in swimming pool construction and in unsupervised swimming.

“Drowning in young children is often associated with falls into water and lapses in direct supervision,” said Kym Roberts, who studies drownings in Australia, where child drowning deaths have been level or decreasing in recent years.

Preliminary U.S. data for 2025 suggests child drowning deaths may have declined, Clemens said, though officials said it is not clear whether that marks the start of a trend. Deaths remain higher than before the pandemic.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in a recent warning emphasized the speed at which drownings can occur. “When drowning occurs, seconds matter,” said Dr. Rohit Shenoi, the lead author of the AAP warning. “Quick rescue and resuscitation can mean the difference between life, death and lifelong disability.”

The AAP recommends policies that require swimming pools to be completely surrounded by fences with self-closing, self-latching gates, along with lifeguard standards and life jacket regulations.

The federal government’s top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid off Clemens and the rest of the staff of its drowning prevention program last year, according to Clemens. Continued guidance and prevention support has come from other organizations, including the CDC Foundation and the AAP.

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

Stew Leonard, the chief executive of the Stew Leonard’s grocery chain, said his son Stewie was 21 months old when he drowned in a swimming pool during a family vacation on the island of St. Martin in 1989. Leonard said he found his son face down in the pool.

“When everyone’s watching, nobody’s watching,” said Kim Leonard, his wife, recalling that the couple had assumed the other was watching their son near the pool.

The couple started a foundation that pays for swimming lessons and promotes drowning prevention. Leonard said the foundation has funded over 250,000 swimming lessons for children and opened two swimming schools, one of them across the street from the company’s headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Leonard emphasized two principal prevention approaches: swimming lessons for young children and uninterrupted attention by caregivers when children are near water.

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

He also urged caregivers to avoid distractions. “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.”