BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Child drowning deaths in Louisiana have decreased but health officials say teaching children about water safety is still important.
The Louisiana Department of Health said in a news release that drowning deaths among kids dropped by 40% between 2021 and 2022 but is still the third leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 0-14.
According to LDH, babies and toddlers are at the highest risk for drowning. It is the leading cause of injury-related deaths in this age group.
Most common risk factors in child drownings, according to LDH
- Lack of supervision (52%).
- Inability to swim (49%).
- Absence of proper barriers (38%).
To prevent a drowning, LDH recommends designating a responsible adult to watch kids in or near water without distractions and enrolling children in swim classes.
Other recommendations to prevent drowning include using life jackets when children are on a boat, installing fences around pools to prevent access and adults learning CPR and basic water rescue skills in case of emergencies.
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