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Opinion

Why are there so many drownings in Arizona?

Local homeowners discuss summertime pool safety

Posted

...What is with all the almost and drownings in Arizona? I am a ’70s and ’80s girl and everyone I knew had a pool. No one, and I mean no one, had a pool fence growing up and never heard about the drownings you do now. I had children, OK, we got a fence and security alarm, but my kids were swimming from birth. They knew early on not to go near the pool no matter what or your butt will be tanned ... So, why on Earth in Arizona when practically every other house has a pool, do we hear about this?Genevieve Vincelette

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Missing

I believe it is a lot due to kids, just don’t play and do things outdoors, like we did ... we were outside doing everything imaginable with other kids, learning and living doing things, when it got hot, we did it where it was cooler ... aka in swimming pools, we all learned to swim same as walking. Now it’s TV and phones and video games indoors by themselves. They are missing and loosing out on things that were fundamental to us.Brien Meyer

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No phones

I’m a Phoenix policeman’s daughter and it did happen all the time … we just weren’t as aware. We got a pool in my early teens and fencing went up immediately. Fencing does decrease drownings. But it can’t catch 100% of the accidents. Our friends’ grandson drowned even though they had fencing because of a simple mistake and oversight … that had absolutely nothing to do with cell phones or any screens!Charissa Patterson Merchen

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Certified

I remember the year there were so many drownings that the [fire department] put on a huge CPR class .. Maybe 50 stations in a building downtown. All to get people certified in CPR because of all the deaths of small children in home pools. It was free and there were thousands of people showed up.Judy Dobbins

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Teaching

I didn’t own a pool but I took my baby, 9 months old, to a public pool because teaching them to swim is more important than a fence. Teach them the dangers early and teach them how to get out so if they do happen to get by a fence they know what to do. Telling them not to go in because of a fence is pointless.Michelle Street-Anthony