According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
350 children under the age of five drown in pools each year nationwide.
Among unintentional injuries, drowning is the second leading cause of death to this age group after motor vehicle accidents. In some Sunbelt states such as California, Florida and Arizona, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death to children under five.
Most of the deaths happen in your own backyard, usually during June, July, and August.
Child drowning is a silent death. There's no splashing to alert anyone that the child is in trouble.
At the time of the incidents, most victims were being supervised by one or both parents. Almost half (46%) of the victims were last seen in the house; one quarter (23%) were last seen in the yard or on the porch or patio; and 31% were in or around the pool before the accident. In all, 69% of the children were not expected to be at or in the pool, yet they were found in the water.
Among children ages 1 to 4, most drownings occur in home swimming pools.
Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children 1-4 than any other cause except congenital anomalies (birth defects).
Open Water
Living on the coast, as the water gets warmer, it is very common families like to enjoy their time at the beach. If it isn't the beach it's the lake, river, or pond. But a new report from Safe Kids Worldwide sends a warning about drowning and how families need to pay more attention to swimming safety in open water. You hear a lot about kids drowing in pools, like above, but the drownings in open water have increased severely and are higher than pool drownings.
Bathtub Dangers
This section may seem silly to some but for others they know the horrors of loosing a child because he or she was left alone in the tub for less than 2 minutes. A child can drown in as small as 2 inches of water. Many deaths by drowning happened in a bathtub. Most expertssay the age of 4 is when it's okay to leave them alone in the tub and some insist that a matured 6 year old might be ready.
