PHOENIX — Drownings are preventable and the more people know about when and where they happen the most, the more we can do to stop them.
A water emergency can happen to anyone, but it disproportionally happens to kids under the age of five.
According to the latest report from the Arizona Department of Health Services, in Arizona, drowning is the most common cause of death in children 1-4 years of age.
842 preschoolers went to the hospital for water emergencies in Maricopa County in the last 5 years analyzed.
Adult supervision is one of the big keys to keeping kids safe around water.
Most of the time, the designated Water Watcher was supposed to be a parent, but in many cases, it's another relative or babysitter. Either way, distraction is a big problem.
Drownings can happen in just an inch of water. That includes buckets, toilets, bathtubs, canals and lakes. But in Maricopa County, they are most likely to occur in a pool at 71% of the time.
Girls and boys can have emergencies in the pool, but more than 57% of the time, it happens to boys.
It's also important to remind families who are visiting you to have a Water Watcher, because 7% of toddlers who get sent to the hospital for water-related injuries are visiting from out of state.
No hour or day is immune from water emergencies, but according to hospital data, the riskiest time for kids at the pool is between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
45% of pool emergencies happened on the weekends.
