With a heat wave expected to affect at least 230 million people ahead of Independence Day, families across the country are turning to pools, lakes and beaches to cool off.
Days spent swimming will give your family a break from the heat and will become a precious memory. But water can also be dangerous, and parents whose children have drowned are pleading with families to be careful.
“Make sure it doesn’t happen to you, because it can,” social media influencer Emily Kaiser said on the Jay Shetty Podcast on June 17. Her 3-year-old son, Trigg, died in May 2025 after falling into the family’s backyard pool and drowning. She has been offline for a while, but only recently opened up about the tragedy. “Fight like hell to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Send your kids to swimming lessons. Make sure the pool has a fence. Make sure the pool has sensors. Make sure it has a door alarm. Make sure the sliding door has an auto-closer. Make sure the handle is high enough. Do everything you can to prevent it from happening again.”
According to the World Health Organization, around 300,000 people drown each year around the world, and nearly a quarter of those deaths are children under the age of five. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more children between the ages of 1 and 4 die from drowning in the United States than from any other cause. There are usually more drownings in July than in other months.
Zachary Archer Cohn was one of those children. He drowned in his backyard pool in Connecticut on a hot July day. In 2007, he was 6 years old.
Zachary was an excellent swimmer, said his mother, Karen Cohn. However, they didn’t realize that the drain in the backyard pool had been uncovered, and as he was swimming, Zachary’s arm was pulled into the drain, trapping him underwater. His father, Brian Cohn, jumped into the pool and tried to pull him out, but the suction from the drain was too strong. When Karen Cohn turned off the power to her home, she was able to free her arm, she said. But it was already too late.
“How could something like this happen?” Karen Cohn said she remembers saying to friends and family at the time. “We didn’t even know what a clogged drain was. We didn’t know it could happen in a pool.”
turn tragedy into action
In their grief, Karen and Brian Cohn began researching drowning. They realized it was more common than they thought and felt no one was talking about it. “We felt like we needed to do something,” Brian Cohn said.
“We didn’t want any other family to have to endure the loss of a child,” Karen Cohn added.
The family took legal action after discovering the pool was not built according to regulations, and used the settlement money to start the Zacks Foundation, a water safety nonprofit.
“It’s really cathartic to see the work we’re doing and the progress we’re making,” Karen Cohn said.
Now in its 18th year, the Zach Foundation has provided free water safety camps to more than 25,000 children in at-risk communities. The Cohns were also deeply involved in the development of the U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan and have helped develop local and regional drowning prevention plans across the United States.
The Cohns are grateful to have been able to keep their son’s legacy alive through these efforts. Karen Cohn said it was “hard to believe” that Zachary passed away nearly 20 years ago. Although it took years for their family to heal, the Cohns said they still find strength in each other and in the work they do through the Zack Foundation.
“I feel like there’s a lot of stigma going on. Blame and shame,” Brian Cohn said. “I think time will definitely help.”
Water safety tips for families
The Zacks Foundation wants everyone to know the basics of water safety.
- A is for adults. Children should never swim without an adult. Adults should never swim alone either.
- B is for barrier. Make sure there are barriers to the body of water, such as fences, gates, doors, and locks.
- C is a class. Children should take swimming lessons, and parents should know how to perform CPR in an emergency.
- D stands for Drain Safety and Equipment. Remind children to never go near pool or hot tub drains. Both children and adults must wear life jackets in the open sea.
- E stands for everywhere. Water is everywhere. Karen Cohn said even a bathtub can be a drowning risk. Constant vigilance and education regarding water safety is essential.
Madeline Mitchell’s role covering women and the care economy for USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Contact Madeline at: memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ With X.
