Young Childhood Drowning

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• Young children are curious and often fascinated with water, yet they do not understand the potential dangers of playing in or around it.
• Drowning is silent; a person who is drowning is not likely to splash, shout, or call for help.
• Drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children one to four years of age in the U.S. – two children under age 15 die every day from drowning.
• Annually in Oklahoma, approximately 10 children under age five die from drowning.
• Infant drownings most often occur in bathtubs, toilets, and buckets.
• Most toddler and preschooler drownings occur in residential swimming pools (often when swimming is not the intended activity and the child is assumed to be safe inside).

Prevention

• Supervision is critical!
  • Designate an adult with swimming skills to actively watch children in or near any water. Do not distract a “water watcher” or allow them to become distracted.
  • Never leave a child in or near water, even for a second. Drownings occur very quickly, in less time than it takes to answer the telephone or get something to eat.
  • Avoid using alcohol or drugs, or being under their influence, while supervising children; this causes poor judgement and delays in reaction time to emergencies.
  • Use “touch supervision” for young children; stay within an arm’s reach of the child.
• Use “layers of protection” to prevent drownings. When children are not supposed to be in the water, supervision alone is not enough to keep them safe.
• Install pool fencing that completely surrounds the pool and is at least four feet high, with self-closing, self-latching gates.
• Install alarms on all doors and windows that provide access to a swimming pool.
• Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
• Provide children swimming lessons and water-survival skills training at an early age.
• Require wearing an approved personal floatation device (life jacket) at all times when boating or near water.
• Empty buckets and bathtubs immediately after use; consider installing toilet seat locks.

Internet Resources

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Safe Kids USA
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Resource Center
• Consumer Product Safety Commission

Injury Prevention Service, OSDH, 1000 NE 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73117
Revised January 2012

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