Schumer: Measures needed to reduce toddler drownings in US

Schumer is calling on the federal government to take steps to help prevent drowning deaths. (Photo: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio/Jeff McEvoy/Public Domain)

ALBANY, N.Y. – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says a new report shows the number of drownings involving toddlers in the U.S. has increased in recent years, with young boys dying at twice the rate of girls.

Schumer is calling on the federal government to take steps to help prevent drowning deaths.

The Senate minority leader from New York says data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2014-2016 show 1,300 children 4 or younger died of drowning, with total deaths rising each year.

According to the CDC, 436 were girls and 864 were boys.

Schumer says according to the CDC, three children drown every day in the U.S.

He says the CDC should develop a program to inform parents about the dangers that swimming pools and waterways pose to toddlers, especially boys.