Keeping your children safe around water is one of the single most important things a parent can do to protect a child.

Drowning claims the lives of over 4,000 people every year. Although all age groups ae represented, children 0-4 have the highest death rate due to drowning. In recent years an average of about 250 children under 5 years old drowned in pools nationwide annually. Another 2,700 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for near-drowning incidents. One-third of the children arriving unconscious at a medical facility will suffer significant brain damage. The average annual cost to care for a chronically impaired near drowning victim is $100,000. A national poll conducted by Harris Interactive found only 19 percent of Americans are aware that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death among children under the age of five.