This could be the deadliest year for child drownings in Florida's history

Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald on Jul 24, 2026

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MIAMI — There have been 15 child drownings so far this year in South Florida and data shows that 2026 is set to become the deadliest for child drownings in the Florida’s history.

In Florida, 119 children drowned in 2025, 80% of whom were under the age of three, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. This year already, there have been 74 child drownings in the state, making it on track to be deadlier than last year. The state had a total of 452 unintentional drowning deaths in 2024, a rate of 1.9 per 100,000 people.

The Herald previously reported the deaths of a 2-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl in Plantation after they drowned in lakes near their home within a week of each other earlier this month.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. About 4,000 children die from unintentional drowning per year in the nation. That’s 11 every day.

A mother’s quest

One important preventative action that parents can take is teaching their children how to swim at an early age. The Department of Children and Families reports that more than half of the nation’s adults have never taken formal swimming lessons.

Ana Nguyen, who lost her daughter Jenny in a pool-related drowning, started a program called Swim for Jenny with the YMCA of South Florida, which provides free swimming lessons for anyone from 6 months to adults.

Nguyen attended a press conference in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday along with Nicklaus Children's Health System, Broward Health, YMCA of South Florida and other community organizations to raise awareness about pool safety and the importance of teaching children — and adults — how to swim.

Nguyen’s daughter Jenny died at a party at a home that had a pool. She said that she had “already planned to enroll Jenny and her brother in swimming lessons” before the incident.

That’s the hardest part, she said.

“At some point, Jenny got into water… and she was not able to make it back to safety on her own,” Nguyen said. “I never imagined that waiting a few weeks would mean losing my child forever.”

Drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1 through 4, and in kids ages 5 through 14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after vehicle crashes.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and the YMCA of South Florida offered other drowning prevention tips, such as constantly supervising children while they are in water, wearing life jackets, learning CPR and using pool fences, pool covers and pool alarms to ensure children don’t have access to water when adults are not around.

Nguyen stressed that it is important that parents enroll their children in swimming lessons as early as possible.

“It breaks my heart every time I hear about another child drowning,” Nguyen said. “Every one of those stories reminds me of Jenny and the pain that no families should ever have to experience.”

“If Jenny’s story inspires even one family to sign their children up [for] swimming lessons, then her legacy continues to save lives,” Nguyen said.