The most common cause of death through injury to young children is drowning. Young children can drown quickly, quietly and in as little as a few centimetres of water. An adult should be within arm’s reach whenever a child is in or near water.
In 2023-2024 children made up 44% of all fall related drowning deaths, 26% of those were aged 0-4 years and 18% aged 5-9 years.
Despite significant reductions in toddler drowning deaths over time, drowning continues to be one of the leading causes of accidental death for Australian children under 5 years of age. Statistics from the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia’s National Drowning Report show that in 2023-2024, 15 Australian children aged 0-4 years drowned. The majority of these drowning incidents were from falling into water (60%). 40% occurred in a swimming pool and 27% in a bathtub or spa bath.
While pool and spa barriers can be effective in reducing the risk of drowning incidents, evidence suggests that a large number of drowning deaths are the result of barriers that are faulty, or non- compliant with Australian standards.
Kidsafe’s ‘Safe Barriers Save Lives’ campaign urges all pool and spa owners to check their barriers and set their backyard pool defence to assist in keeping children safe in and around water. The campaign features a series of humorous skits with parents employing an over the top defence and celebrations while playing backyard sporting games with their children, to remind families that when it comes to backyard pool safety, ‘the best offence is a good defence’.
Royal Life Saving Australia Courses
Step 1 – Spot the hazards.
Step 2 – Decide how to deal with the hazard.
When dealing with other hazards, otherwise:
Step 3 – Make the changes.
Download water safety resources and get informed together with actionable information you can do for your child’s water safety while having fun.
Over the last five years almost 100 Australian children under the age of five drowned. While all these drowning deaths are preventable, it is the 54% that occur in home swimming…
LIVES So, if you’re getting ready for a pool party this summer, take a few minutes to check the safety of your pool barrier. You never know, you could just save a life.
The best offence is the best deFence. Poster that will remind you to always put safety first in the middle of the water fun.
