In Italy 330 drowned, in the swimming pool over half were under 12

Having escaped the attention of their parents, fallen into the water or ended up, while playing, in deep water: these are the main causes of drowning among the youngest children in Italy, with under 12s representing 53% of victims in swimming pools for this reason.

Furthermore, of the total of 330 drownings that occur each year in our country, 12% are under 18 years old. This is highlighted in the second report of the 'Observatory for the development of a national strategy for the prevention of drownings and accidents in bathing waters' published in the latest ISS report. An opportunity to launch, together with 9 regions, a video with advice for parents who "in many cases make mistakes in surveillance based on false beliefs". "Establishing a correct relationship with water is fundamental for the growth of our children, and with some attention we can reduce the risks that are inevitably connected to this element says Andrea Piccioli, Director General of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità - A special thanks goes to the regions because together with them we can increase the diffusion of this campaign and promote more effective prevention". In Italy, an average of about 328 people of all ages die each year from drowning. In the 5 years from 2017 to 2021 (Istat data), 1642 people died from drowning. Of these, 12.5% ​​(or 206) were aged between 0 and 19. This equates to approximately 41 deaths per year involving children or adolescents, with males representing 81% of all drowning deaths in pediatric age. Cases increase with increasing age, although not in a linear manner (the 1-4 age group has more cases than the 5-9 age group), up to adolescents.

"Water, even when it is a puddle or a pond, has a fatal attraction for any child," explains Vincenzo Ferrara, who edited the report. "In inflatable pools, the risk of a small child, who has just started walking, falling in is very high. We must remember here that a child who has fallen into the water will disappear from sight within 20 seconds." One of the most common causes of child drowning is the lack of or inadequate supervision by adults who, when interviewed, admitted that while they were supervising their child near the water, they had talked to others (38%), had to supervise another child, read (18%), eat (17%) and/or talk on the phone (11%).

Among parents of children under 12, almost half (48%) mistakenly believed that they would hear noises and splashes or their child would cry if he or she was in difficulty in the water. In addition, 56% believed that a lifeguard, if present, was the primary person responsible for supervision, and 32% reported leaving their child unattended in a pool for 2 minutes or more. Among the main tips for preventing drowning, contained in a video made in collaboration with 9 regions (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Molise, Piedmont, Sardinia, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto and Sicily): dive in supervised waters; avoid doing so in rough seas; follow the instructions of supervisors; educate children about water safety from an early age; do not dive into the water suddenly after eating or prolonged exposure to the sun; dive from cliffs only in water of adequate depth.