The CPSC said it believes there have been nine deaths of children between 22 months old and 3 years old after the kids gained access to the pools through footholds created by the pools’ compression straps. The children’s deaths occurred between 2007 and 2022 in California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.
Overreach? They are sending repair kits to the owners of the pools if they request them. The pool owners aren’t required to do anything and the company whose product played a role in the deaths of nine kids are just sending kits to improve the pool’s safety. This doesn’t sound super onerous for anyone involved.
Also, I’m guessing you don’t have kids if you think that even the most diligent parents can keep tabs on their kids all of the time. I keep a close eye on my toddler, but he certainly is able to get into mischief when I look away for a minute.
I doubt this would happen to me because I do watch extremely closely, but I can’t guarantee that a situation couldn’t come up in which my kid could escape my notice long enough to get into a pool. The numbers of incidents are low because most parents are diligent, but even diligent parents can have lapses.
Preach! My youngest is a runner with zero fear of being alone. We have had some flippin’ terrifying moments.
We are incredibly diligent but a runner’s gonna run.
…Have you tried a leash? (On a hand, not a neck. For safety.)
Exactly. 5 million pools are involved, and 9 deaths that aren’t all confirmed to be due to the straps.
In comparison, over 350 children under the age of 15 die every year in pools and spas in the US whereas the deaths related to these pools happened over a period of 15 years.