From AbcNews.com:
Monday marks the official start of summer, which, for many Americans, means visits to the pool or trips to the beach.
But the American Academy of Pediatricsis urging caution when it comes to summer splashing. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for those younger than 19 and can be prevented, the group says.
One demographic in particular, African-Americans, is threatened by the statistic. Black children drown at a rate more than three times that of white children.
While 40 percent of white children were found to have low or no swimming ability , the same was true for nearly 70 percent of African-American children, a YMCAsurvey shows. Latino children also lag in their swimming level, with 58 percent at low or no swimming ability.
