Parents Urged to Fence or Fill Pools to Keep Toddlers Safe
The best way for parents to keep their children from drowning is to drain their swimming pools and fill them with sand, a consumer group warned Wednesday.
Drowning in swimming pools is the leading cause of death for California toddlers, killing about 75 children ages 1 to 4 in the state each year. Most of those children are in Los Angeles County, according to a study issued by the California Public Interest Research Group. In 1993, the most recent year for which data was available, 75 toddlers were hospitalized after nearly drowning and 17 died.
Parents with back-yard pools should erect fences around them, said Daron Cook, the group’s Los Angeles campaign director, or better yet, drain the pools and turn them into giant sandboxes.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
