CINCINNATI, Ohio— Each summer, medical professionals remind us of the importance of watching your child around water. But this summer, with many public pools closed, Cincinnati Children’s hospital is seeing a rise in drownings in backyard pools. 

What You Need To Know

  • Child drowning deaths have increased this summer as more public pools are closed or limited in use

  • Cincinnati Children's has already seen nine child drowning deaths this summer, which is a significant increase from the typical one to three a summer

  • Experts say an increase in use of backyard pools is most likely a major cause of the drownings

  • Always keep a watchful eye on children in and around water with no distractions

​​Summer should be a time of relaxing and fun outside, but for some parents, their worst nightmare can happen in a matter of seconds.

“They have to be vigilant and supervising every single minute that a child is in water, because it doesn’t take long for a child to drown," said Dawne Gardner, the hospital injury prevention specialist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Gardner is worried after seeing a substantial increase in drownings this summer.

“Lately, it’s been that increase in backyard pools and the numbers have tripled from what we normally see," she said.

Gardner says because many public pools are closed or limited this summer, more families are getting their swim fix in a backyard pool — which poses more risks without lifeguards and more eyes on the pool.

“Swimming itself has to be supervised," Gardner said. "Children have to be supervised at all times with no distractions while they are in and around water.”

Gardner suggests several ways to prevent drowning. She says always keep a watchful eye on your kids with no distractions, like cell phones or a book. She suggests being in the water with younger children even if they have flotation devices. And lastly, if you have a pool in your backyard, to have a high gate around the water with a tall lock out of the reach of children. Gardner says to have a plan if your child does fall in a pool or is drowning.

“Parents say 'Oh, if my child is drowning I would know, I would hear, they would scream. They would tell me they’re drowning as they’re going under,'" Gardner said. "And that is not true.”

At Cincinnati Children’s, they’ve seen nine drowning deaths so far this year— up from the average one to three a summer. And unfortunately, it’s not just a local trend.

“When we look at drownings on a national level from ages one to four, drownings are the number one cause of death for children in that age group," Gardner said. "So, once again, this is extremely worrisome because of the increase that we’ve seen locally, but this is a national trend.”