INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Departments of Child Services and Natural Resources remind parents and guardians to closely watch children near water.

Among other precautions, the agencies say parents and guardians should never leave children alone around water and to teach children to ask permission before going near bodies of water. It also says children should be taught to swim, should always swim with a buddy and only in areas with designated life guards on duty.

The reminder comes after the weekend drownings of two Indianapolis children: an 8-year-old girl in an apartment complex pond, and a 14-year-old boy in a lake at a Decatur County campground.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report accidental drowning is the second largest cause of death among children ages 14 and younger.

Posted 6/15/2018