Source: Safe Kids USA
 
While water recreation provides hours of enjoyment and exercise for children, water and children can be a deadly mix when an unsafe environment, inadequate supervision or improperly used safety gear is also present. Drowning remains the second leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 14, despite a 40 percent decline in the childhood drowning death rate from 1987 to 2001. In 2001, 859 children ages 14 and under died as a result of unintentional drowning and, in 2002, an estimated 2,700 children in this age group were treated in hospital emergency rooms for near-drowning.

Drowning can occur in a variety of circumstances – during water recreational activities (such as swimming and boating) or when a young child is left unsupervised for a short time in the bathtub or around the home with access to nearby pools and spas. Drowning, which can happen in as little as one inch of water, is usually quick and silent. A child will lose consciousness two minutes after submersion, with irreversible brain damage occurring within four to six minutes. The majority of children who survive without neurological consequences are discovered within two minutes of submersion, and most children who die are found after 10 minutes.

For children who do survive, the consequences of near-drowning can be devastating. As many as 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability, the effects of which often result in long-lasting psychological and emotional trauma for the child, his or her family and their community.

A near-drowning also take a tremendous financial toll on affected families and society as a whole. Typical medical costs for a near-drowning victim can range from $75,000 for initial treatment to $180,000 a year for long-term care. The total cost of a single near-drowning that results in brain injury can be more than $4.5 million. The total annual lifetime cost of drownings among children ages 14 and under is approximately $6.8 billion, with children ages 4 and under accounting for $3.4 billion, or half, of these costs.

Research shows there is no one device or solution that can prevent all childhood drowning. Instead, a multifaceted strategy, including active supervision by a designated adult, safe water environments, proper gear and education, is required to ensure children’s safety in and around water. While water recreation provides hours of enjoyment and exercise for children, water and children can be a deadly mix when an unsafe environment, inadequate supervision or improperly used safety gear is also present. Drowning remains the second leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 14, despite a 40 percent decline in the childhood drowning death rate from 1987 to 2001. In 2001, 859 children ages 14 and under died as a result of unintentional drowning and, in 2002, an estimated 2,700 children in this age group were treated in hospital emergency rooms for near-drowning.

Drowning can occur in a variety of circumstances – during water recreational activities (such as swimming and boating) or when a young child is left unsupervised for a short time in the bathtub or around the home with access to nearby pools and spas. Drowning, which can happen in as little as one inch of water, is usually quick and silent. A child will lose consciousness two minutes after submersion, with irreversible brain damage occurring within four to six minutes. The majority of children who survive without neurological consequences are discovered within two minutes of submersion, and most children who die are found after 10 minutes.

For children who do survive, the consequences of near-drowning can be devastating. As many as 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability, the effects of which often result in long-lasting psychological and emotional trauma for the child, his or her family and their community.