Wading Pools
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1246
No trend data
The verdict
Wading Pools carry a danger score of 31/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,290 ER-treated injuries a year that are stable over the most recent five-year window.
- 31/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,290
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 7.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1246 - last data year 2008.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 31/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for wading pools - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,290 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)7.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trendN/A
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Wading Pools (CPSC product code 1246, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,290 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 5,158 ER-treated injuries across the 4-year span from 2005 to 2008. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 31/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are stable over the most recent five-year window, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (1,519 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (1,074 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for wading pools is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 366 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (341 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,661 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 7.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how wading pools fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2008-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2008)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,017 | 644 | |
| 5-14 | 694 | 945 | |
| 15-24 | 110 | 375 | |
| 25-34 | 376 | 113 | |
| 35-44 | 77 | 270 | |
| 45-54 | 280 | 158 | |
| 55-64 | 80 | 0 | |
| 75+ | 0 | 15 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| All Parts Body | Submersion | |
| Lower Leg | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Other | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
26 YO M LUMBAR STRAIN / BACK PAIN STARTED AFTER MOVING KIDDY POOL*
CHIN LAC, 2 YOM, SWIMMING @ WADING POOL, AND FELL, HITTING CHIN ON THESIDE OF POOL.
PT WAS AT A PARK WADING POOL, SLIPPED AND FELL CAUSING A CONTUSION TONOSE.
PT WAS SWIMMING IN POOL WHEN GOT STUNG BY A YELLOW JACKET ON L FINGERDX: INSECT BITE TO FINGER
SALTER INJURY, EPIPHYSEAL INJURY L ANKLE: WAS IN POOL AT HOME (2 FT)PLAYING WITH FRIEND, BOTH FELL, FRIEND LANDED ON FOOT
MOTHER STATES CHILD IS BREATHING FUNNY SWALLOWED LARGE AMOUNT OF WATERTODAY WHILE IN WADING POOL DX BRONCHOSPASMS EXCERIS INDUCED DUR SWIMMIN
PT WAS FOUND FACE DOWN IN KIDDIE POOLDX: NEAR DROWNING
PT, WHO TWISTED ANKLE WHILE IN LINE AT ***LAND ON 6/05, RETWISTED ANKLE GETTING OUT OF KIDDIE POOL YESTERDAY. D:ANKLE SPRAIN.
PT WAS INTOXICATED, TRIPPED & FELL INTO A SMALL KIDDIE POOL, REMAINEDUNDER WATER FOR 1 MIN, UNRESPONSIVE. DX-DROWNING, CERV SPINE FX
JUMPING INTO KIDDIE POOL, FELL HITTING ELBOW ONTO CEMENT SIDEWALK>> FX
FOREHEAD LAC-FELL HITTING EDGE OF KIDDY POOL-@ HOME
PT STATES TRIPPED AND FELL ON POOLDX RT LOWER ARM SPRAIN
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to wading pools on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are wading pools?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, wading pools have a danger score of 31/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,290 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from wading pools?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 366 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from wading pools increasing or decreasing?
No trend data.
Who is most at risk for wading pools injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,661 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by wading pools?
Of all ER visits involving wading pools, approximately 7.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with wading pools?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 31/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
