Child & Baby Drowning Prevention

While the stats about child drowning occurrences should grab the attention of any caring parent, the stories and headlines of kids and babies drowning continue to break our hearts.

  • Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. among children under 14 and the leading cause of accidental death for children five and under.
  • Of all preschoolers who drown, 70% are in the care of one or both parents at the time and 75% are missing from sight for five minutes or less.
  • Fully 65% of all preschooler drowning incidents occur in the child’s home pool and 33% occur at the homes of friends, neighbors or relatives…a child can drown in the time it takes to answer a telephone.
  • The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns consumers about hidden drowning hazards for small children in and around the home. Recent data show that a third as many children under age 5 (an average of about 115 annually) drown from other haza

Yet, the solution to kids drowning is painfully simple. With a few child drowning prevention measures, we can leave the headlines about kids drowning in the past.

Supervision

Gates only prevent drowning when they are properly used, a pool gate left open is a safety hazard! Install self-closing gates that can be locked when pool is not in use. Never leave a gate propped open.

Constant “active” supervision by responsible adults is the first (and most critical) step to child drowning prevention. A child should never be left unattended. Any person charged with the critical duty of watching children in the water should be free from distraction, know how to swim well and be trained in rescue techniques.















Rules

Beyond supervision, parents and caregivers need to enforce proper safety rules and both parent and child need to understand the importance of their role in preventing accidental child drowning.

Swimming Skills

Children are also safer when they master of swimming skills at an early age. Qualified instructors in numerous public and private community swimming programs around the country can provide ongoing development of swimming skills while teaching proper behavior in and around the water. Teaching kids to swim should be a process, not an event.

Meet a Few Water Safety Friends

To catch and retain the attention of children, parents and caregivers, the Swim for Life Foundation, Inc. has developed three cartoon characters for the Safer 3 program, which have proven to be a very effective teaching aid, great for grabbing attention.

Timmy Tadpole© educates kids about how to be safer by learning to swim and behave properly around water.






Sammy Starfish© talks to kids about how to get parents to make water safer with protective barriers, and how to do their part with good habits around the pool or spa.





Gilbert Guppy© teaches kids about how rescue preparation by both kids and parents can make a big difference in water safety.







The Swim for Life Foundation, Inc. has obtained the exclusive rights to these characters including permission for unlimited use of the jingle for drowning prevention purposes from the composer.