Chezik Tsunoda, a mother of four and resident of Mercer Island, is magnetic and engaging even when talking about the worst topic in the world: losing a child.
In 2018, Tsunoda’s 3-year-old son, Yori, drowned in a swimming pool surrounded by friends and family.
Several adults were nearby. It was what any parent would consider safe. But drowning—the leading cause of death for children under age 4—is swift and silent.
Simple Actions Prevent Tragedies
No More Under founder Chezik Tsunoda, Sammamish YMCA Aquatics Director Riley Simpson, and several working lifeguards offer the following checklists for preventing water injury or death.
Before you go:
- Start basic water safety at age 2
- Ask playdates if they have a pool/hot tub
- Learn how to swim and perform CPR
- Advocate for water safety education and legislation
- Download No More Under's free Water Watcher App
Around the water:
- Designate a Water Watcher
- Practice the buddy system
- Hire a lifeguard for pool parties
- Make sure older kids tell you when they go swimming
- Keep hot tub time short, replenish fluids, rest afterward
- The U.S. Swim School Association (USSSA) warns that floatation devices may create a false sense of security and ultimately increase the risk of childhood drowning. "Floaties" condition kids to automatically assume what’s known as the “drowning position” while in the water—a muscle memory reaction that can lead to tragedy. To reduce the risk of drowning, the USSSA recommends children take swim lessons.
“I remember saying, ‘Where’s Yori?'” Tsunoda said. “I had this strange feeling.”
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In the years after Yori’s death, Tsunoda realized water safety education wasn’t sufficiently prioritized for American communities. Kids were still dying and suffering debilitating brain injuries in preventable water accidents. She started the organization No More Under with a single goal: to save lives.
Here’s what she wants you to know.
So Many Ways to Drown
In 2020, after years of steady decline, the number of children who drowned in the United States started to climb. Between 2018 and 2022, 135 people in King County lost their lives to drowning. Seattle Children’s estimates that 17 children drown in Washington state every year.
“These deaths are completely preventable,” said Tsunoda.
Global experts agree. In 2022, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a special interest call for research on drowning prevention.
According to Dr. Cinnamon Dixon, Medical Officer at the National Institute of Health and Human Development, “The research in these applications varied considerably, representing the breadth of endeavors needed to address drowning.”
According to Tsunoda, water safety is a massive issue requiring efforts across all aspects of public policy. She puts it bluntly: “There are so many ways to drown.”
For children ages 4 and younger, an inch of water can be dangerous. More than 85% of small children drown in pools or hot tubs at home or at a friend’s. Toilets, bathtubs, decorative ponds, and even puddles pose a risk.
For kids aged 5 to 17, the risk shifts. While parents should remain vigilant at pools, open water—the kind most of us swim in here in the Puget Sound region—poses the more significant threat. “We often learn how to swim in a pool, and children don’t understand the difference being in that open space,” said Tsunoda. “It’s not a controlled environment.”
According to the Red Cross, oceans, rivers, lakes, and ponds account for half of all drownings for children and teens; risks vary by demographics. Boys, children with ASD, and children of color are more likely to drown than their peers.
Nearly half of Americans do not know how to swim.
“There are huge cultural differences around water,” explained Tsunoda. “Fewer black and brown families know how to swim, so they just avoid the water.
“But this is Seattle,” she said, gesturing emphatically. “We are surrounded by water.”
Water Safety Advocacy
Tsunoda is ardent about changing the conversation around water safety.
“When we visit our pediatricians,” she said, “we hear about sugar, electrical outlets, everything—but the number one reason your kids won’t make it to kindergarten is drowning.
“My heart is dedicated to getting water safety taught in schools, so there’s not all that pressure on the parents,” she said.
Physical education teachers can talk with kids about water safety and advocate for swim lessons, which can support children whose parents aren’t swimmers. No More Under also connects families to affordable lessons. In 2022, 196 kids took swim lessons through No More Under partners.
Last year, No More Under worked to pass Yori’s Law (HB 1750), a bill that promotes equitable water safety and drowning prevention education.
Be a Water Watcher!
Parents can download No More Under’s free Water Watcher App, which offers timed intervals as a designated “water watcher,” an adult committed to 100% watching children in the water—no texting, drinking, or socializing.
“In the amount of time it takes to read and answer a text message, a kid can drown,” said Tsunoda.
Take it from a lifeguard.
Riley Simpson, the Sammamish YMCA’s aquatics director, explains, “Drowning is a process. I’ve seen kids in trouble ten feet away from their parents.”
“When children are distressed in the water, survival instincts kick in,” Simpson said. “They may look like they are climbing a ladder, bobbing up and down for air, or clinging to an item.”
Simpson added, “Their mouth and nose are dipping into the water, and they are expending all their energy trying to breathe, so most kids can’t shout or splash.”
