According to the Centers for Disease Control, Florida has some of the highest rates of drowning deaths in the nation every year.
Now, Action News Jax has learned that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a child drowned Saturday afternoon at the Pine Ridge Plantation amenity center in Middleburg.
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The details of what led up to the drowning have not been released.
Centers
“Swimming lessons decrease the drowning percentage in kids by 88%, it’s an incredibly important activity,” Hall told Action News Jax Sunday. “Especially here in Florida, where we constantly lead the nation in the number of accidental drowning deaths. So swim lessons are the proven most important thing when it comes to preventing accidental drowning deaths in children.”
Hall added that even what parents have their kids wear when hitting the pool or beach this summer could save their lives in case of an emergency.
“Bright swimsuits, personalized swimsuits, anything that you know as a parent, as a family member, of what that kid is wearing,” Hall explained. “If you can notice them right away, then you have more time to act.”
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While Hall outlined the lifesaving potential of those swimming lessons and other steps parents can take, he stressed that the most important thing of all parents can do is simply pay extra attention to their children around the water.
“A lot of these drowning incidents occur when the kids aren’t meant to be swimming,” Hall pointed out. “It’s an unlocked pool, it’s just an open pond, anything like that. It’s not just keeping an eye on the kids, but it’s keeping an eye on the water that you’re around as well.”
Read: 4-year-old dies after accidental drowning in retention pond on Southside, per JSO
You can find more information on child drowning prevention and statistics by clicking here.
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