Help Prevent Child Drownings in the Home
Splash Safety at Your Pad
The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) have published an updated report into child drownings.
The new report highlights evidence from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) which shows that the number of child drowning deaths in England has doubled over the last four years.
In the past 4 years 125 children have drowned with 51 incidents occurring at home - primarily during bath time and involving children under 5. The report emphasises the importance of adult supervision, as 86% of the cases involved unsupervised children. To read the report please click here

In response to the report findings the RLSS have launched a brand-new fun and engaging water safety awareness campaign named "Splash Safety at Your Pad". The campaign offers free hints, tips and advice for families, to help parents and carers alike learn more about the risks posed by bath time and how to stay safe. Families can access the bath time safety resources by visiting www.rlss.org.uk/splash
The key messages of the RLSS campaign is as follows:
1) Always keep young children within arm’s reach in the bath. Always keep children under constant adult supervision in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. In a recent survey the RLSS found that 59% of parents of children under five admitted to leaving the child unattended in the bath at least once in the past month – and for most, this was down to them forgetting something, such as a towel.
2) Never leave your child under the supervision of child siblings in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. The RLSS found that 2 in 5 parents (41%) think it's safe to leave a baby in the bath with an older sibling, as long as it's not for too long.
3) Drowning can happen quickly and silently – in a matter of minutes. You won’t hear that something is wrong. Parents often don’t realise that drowning happens quickly and silently. In the RLSS survey, 55% of parents believe they would hear thrashing and a lot of noise if their child was struggling in the bath.