Michigan  Child  Death  Review  Program

Drowning is the third leading cause of injury-related death in Michigan; nationally, drowning is the second leading cause of injury-related death.  In 2000, an average of nine people per day died of drowning.

Childhood drowning can happen within a matter of seconds and usually occurs when there is a lapse in supervision or when supervision is inadequate.  Drowning occurs most often in swimming pools, often at the child’s own home or at the home of a neighbor or friend. Nationally, more than half of drownings among children ages 1-4 are pool-related.  Fewer drownings occur when the pool is in-ground and is surrounded on all sides by fencing.  Four-sided isolation fencing has been shown to prevent drownings by up to 90%.

Children under the age of four are at the greatest risk of drowning.  At this age, they are particularly vulnerable for a variety of reasons.  Often young children will reach into water either to retrieve a toy or to play, and fall into enough water for the drowning to occur.  Young children are also very curious about water, and might not understand the consequences of entering a body of water when unable to swim.

Males are at a much higher risk of drowning than females.  One study found that on average, nearly three-quarters of all drowning victims are male.  Toddlers, especially boys under age four, are at highest risk of drowning.  Very young children are curious near water but are not able to comprehend the potential dangers.  They often do not splash or call for help when they get into trouble in the water. 

Other than swimming pools, some common places for drowning include open bodies of water such as lakes, ponds and rivers, bathtubs (especially for children under one year of age), buckets, toilets, wading pools, hot tubs and gravel pits.  Very young children can drown in as little as one inch of water.  Infants who are left unattended in bathtubs can easily slip into the water and are unable to return themselves to a sitting position.  The CPSC reports that, nationwide, 292 children under the age of 5 drowned in bathtubs between 1996 to 1999.

Age plays a large role in determining the most likely place for children to drown.  Babies most often drown in bathtubs or other areas in the home (toilets, five-gallon buckets, washtubs) when left unattended.  Toddler drownings most often occur in swimming pools or backyard ponds. Often, young children who drown in pools were last seen inside the home or just outside of the home (not necessarily near the water), and had been out of sight of the caretaker for less than five minutes when it was discovered that they were missing.  Older children most often drown in open bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans, gravel pits) while swimming, playing or boating. 

Most child drownings occur when a supervising adult is distracted.  Also, if there are multiple adults in the area, a diffusion of responsibility can occur for watching the children.  Drowning experts now recommend that one adult at a time take responsibility for maintaining constant visual supervision of all children in or near the water.

A recent study by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign used data from 17 states conducting child death reviews, as well as surveying 564 parents of children 14 years old and younger.  Among their conclusions were: parents are overconfident about their children’s safety around water and their swimming abilities; multiple layers of protection must be installed around home pools and they must be used consistently; adults must increase the quality of their supervision of children around water (nearly 9 in 10 of the deaths reviewed occurred while the child was supposedly being supervised).

In Michigan, building codes require specifics for fencing around home pools.  In recent years, the enforcement of these codes has fallen to localities, which rarely pursue this enforcement.  They often point to a lack of resources and lack of code enforcement experience in their personnel as reasons why it is not actively pursued in their area.

Personal flotation devices (PFDs or life jackets) are very effective at preventing drowning for all ages, especially for children on boats or who are playing in or near open bodies of water, regardless of whether the child is thought to be a good swimmer.

Swimming instruction, especially to children over the age of four, has been demonstrated to be effective in preventing drowning.  The use of personal flotation devices is believed to be the number one prevention factor in deaths that occur in open bodies of water.

Nationally, alcohol is a major contributing factor in up to 50% of drownings among adolescent boys.