Monica Zech, Safety Educator for the City of El Cajon

From the Safekids.org Website please read the following:

At the height of summer, cooling off in a pool, at the beach or a lake may top your child's list of favorite activities. While most parents are aware of drowning risks, many don't know that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for kids ages 1 to 4, and the second leading cause for ages 1 to 14.
The stats don't lie, it's easy for a child to get into trouble around water.

Here are some drowning prevention tips to keep in mind:

Bathtub drownings account for more than 10 percent of all childhood drownings, and more than half of those involving children under 1 year old. Most of these happen when an adult has left the tub area.

Don't rely on baby bath seats. Since 1983, 104 children have died and 162 have been involved in nonfatal incidents involving these seats, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, a network of organizations working to prevent accidental childhood injury.

Kids can drown in as little as one inch of water - and a drowning can occur within seconds. Wading pools, bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails and toilets are all dangerous territory for young children. Either keep your kids away from these items or supervise them constantly.
Ages 1 to 4

More than half of drownings among kids ages 1 to 4 involve a swimming pool. Of these, more than half occur at the child's own home. Typically, the kids involved "were last seen in the home, had been missing for less than five minutes and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning," according to Safe Kids. Home spas and hot tubs are also hazards, especially to children under 5.

Install four-sided, 5-feet-high fencing with self-closing, self-latching gates around swimming pools or spas. This "isolation" fencing could prevent 50 to 90 percent of childhood drownings or near-drownings in residential pools, Safe Kids reports.

Older children are more likely to drown in open bodies of water, such as the ocean, a lake or pond, and many are victims of boating accidents. In 2003, 62 percent of kids under age 15 who drowned in a boating accident were not wearing life jackets, according to Safe Kids. Safety experts estimate that 85 percent of boating-related drownings could have been prevented if the victim had worn a personal flotation device.

Swim only in lifeguard-supervised areas.