May 30, 2026, 6:30 am | Read time: 10 minutes

Every year, children drown—often in just a few seconds and without a sound. The tragic truth: Many of these accidents happen right in front of the parents’ eyes. But knowing the dangers and being prepared can save a child’s life.¹

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Why Children Don’t Scream When Drowning

The image of a screaming, wildly thrashing child while drowning is a myth. In reality, the process is silent and unnoticed. Toddlers who fall into water often end up face down—due to their not yet fully developed motor skills, they are unable to free themselves from this position.

Additionally, a spasm of the vocal cords can occur when submerging. This reflex blocks breathing and prevents any sound. The child simply goes under—without anyone noticing.

Everyday Danger: When a Few Centimeters of Water Are Deadly

Particularly dangerous are bodies of water that seem harmless in everyday life: paddling pools, garden ponds, rain barrels, or even puddles. Just a few centimeters of water can be life-threatening for toddlers. Children under five are especially at risk—and most accidents happen at home at this age.

For school-age children, swimming accidents occur more often in public pools—often due to insufficient swimming skills. Teenagers are more likely to get into trouble in lakes or rivers—due to overconfidence or peer pressure.

Children Particularly at Risk

Drowning is one of the most common causes of accidental death among toddlers worldwide. A frequent cause: lack of swimming ability. But even that is not enough of an explanation—children are particularly vulnerable to water on multiple levels.

For one, water is particularly attractive to children: light reflections, movements, or floating leaves spark curiosity—without them being aware of the associated dangers. Toddlers lack sufficient risk awareness. Even older children often cannot assess how deep a body of water is or whether they could stand in it.

The Environment Also Plays a Role

While the backyard pool may be well-secured, an open rain barrel at the neighbor’s, an uncovered pond, or an unguarded access to a stream can be easily overlooked. Especially in unfamiliar surroundings, such as on vacation or outings, the risk increases.

Additionally, children often have a larger range of movement than adults believe. Even small children can move quickly, curiously, and purposefully—often unnoticed.

Statistics show how the risk changes with age:

• Children under five most often drown in their own backyard—in paddling pools, pools, or ponds, often unnoticed.
• Five- to nine-year-olds are more likely to have accidents in public swimming pools—often due to lack of swimming skills, panic, or improper behavior in the water.
• Ten- to 14-year-olds are mainly at risk in lakes, rivers, or while ice skating—often due to overconfidence, peer pressure, or even alcohol consumption.²

This is why preventive measures are so important: Parents and caregivers must know the risks, recognize potential hazards—and consciously avoid them.

Learning to Swim Saves Lives—but It’s Not Enough Alone

Children who can swim are better protected—that’s undisputed. But even safe swimming never replaces the duty of supervision. The key is a combination of swimming ability, parental accompaniment, and water awareness.

Swimming not only enhances safety but also has many positive effects:

• strengthens muscles and endurance
• is easy on the joints
• promotes body coordination
• boosts self-confidence
• is fun and healthy

A structured swimming education is recommended from about five years old. Before that, children can be prepared through playful water familiarization—such as blowing bubbles, diving, “starfish” floating, or opening their eyes underwater.³

Also interesting: How long and far men and women should be able to swim

It’s important: Swimming is more than splashing around. A child can be considered a safe swimmer if they:

• swim for at least 15 minutes without assistance,
• can dive safely and retrieve an object from two meters deep,
• jump into the water from a meter high and continue swimming.

This corresponds to the bronze badge. The beginner level only shows water familiarization—children with this badge are not considered safe swimmers, emphasizes the DLRG. Even after the course, it’s important to keep practicing. Swimming is a skill that needs regular practice to be maintained and improved—the school curriculum is usually not enough.

Tip: Check with local swimming pools for children’s programs. The Berlin Pools, for example, offer water familiarization and swimming courses for children where they can earn the beginner badge and other certifications. There are also special courses for adults to learn swimming.⁴

Swimming Aids—Helpful but Never Safe

Water wings, rings, or vests give many parents a sense of security. But they can slip, tip over, or fail. Suitable for water familiarization—unsuitable for real swimming lessons.

For practice, kickboards or pool noodles are better. These can be borrowed for a deposit at most swimming pools. But even here, no child should be left unsupervised—even if they have mastered the first swimming strokes.⁵

Swimming Becomes More of a Risk—Because Fewer Children Learn It

The swimming situation in Germany has dramatically worsened over the years. As early as 2020, nearly 25 percent of elementary schools could no longer offer swimming lessons, according to the DLRG—due to dilapidated pools, staff shortages, and the coronavirus pandemic. The result: More and more children left elementary school without basic swimming skills. In the same year, 18 preschoolers and five elementary school children died in the water, according to statistics—experts see a clear connection to declining swimming ability.⁶

Even today, the DLRG continues to warn of significant deficits in children’s swimming ability. According to recent surveys, around 60 percent of fourth graders cannot swim safely. At the same time, there is a lack of swimming halls, courses, and qualified staff in many places—the waiting lists remain long.

This trend has continued. According to a DLRG-Forsa survey from 2022, only 24 percent of elementary school students had the bronze badge—indicating safe swimming ability. More than half could not swim safely. Particularly affected: children from low-income households. While almost every second child from families with an income under 2,500 euros could not swim safely, it was only one in eight for families with an income over 4,000 euros. At the same time, there is a lack of swimming courses and pools—the waiting lists are long.⁷

When Many Watch—but No One Acts

An underestimated factor is the so-called diffusion of responsibility. It occurs when several adults are present, but no one feels directly responsible. Everyone thinks someone else is watching the child.

This is a real risk, especially during outings, barbecues, or at swimming pools. Solution: Always clearly designate who is watching the child. And who takes over if that person can’t for a moment.

Study Shows: Parents Overestimate Their Children’s Awareness of Danger

How realistically do parents, grandparents, and other caregivers assess the risk of drowning? This was precisely what the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) examined as part of the “Vision Zero—Prevention of Child Accidents” project.

The aim of the study was to analyze the knowledge and behavior of caregivers regarding drowning risks and other everyday dangers (such as falling from windows)—especially from their own perspective. A total of 45 caregivers of children under 15 were surveyed—including parents, aunts, grandparents, foster parents, and neighbors. All participants care for children at least once a month, and more than half of the children cared for were younger than ten years.

Inattention and Lack of Supervision

Most participants were aware of the importance of supervision, but they admitted that even short distractions are often underestimated. Especially with small children in shallow water, the risk is hardly present. However, many were well aware that even a brief moment of inattention can end tragically—especially because “silent drowning” is hardly noticeable.

Danger from Diffusion of Responsibility

A key finding was that many caregivers do not clearly designate who is watching the child during group activities (such as at the pool or in the garden). This leads to no one feeling directly responsible—everyone silently assumes someone else is watching. A clear division of roles was therefore cited as an indispensable measure to close this dangerous gap.

False Sense of Security Through Rules

A common misconception in the focus groups was the assumption that it is enough to explain behavioral rules to children. Many caregivers thought it was sufficient to admonish children to behave cautiously—such as “don’t run into the water.” The problem: Children under about four years old do not yet have a stable awareness of danger from a developmental psychology perspective. They cannot correctly assess risks and quickly forget rules in new, exciting situations.

The study clearly shows: Prevention starts with adults. Not through appeals to children, but through realistic thinking, attention, responsibility—and good preparation for emergencies.⁸

More on the topic

Sudden Depth Beware: The Dangers of Swimming in Summer!

Everyday Question At what age should children ideally learn to swim?

What to Do After a Swimming Accident? Recognize Warning Signs—Act Correctly

If a swimming accident does occur, the shock is often great after the rescue from the water—but the danger is not over. Some symptoms appear only with a delay. Parents should take these warning signs seriously:

• Persistent cough
• Difficulty or rapid breathing
• Vomiting
• Lethargy or confusion

If these symptoms occur, the child must be examined by a doctor immediately. Reassurance: Without symptoms, there is no medically relevant danger—the often-mentioned “secondary” or “dry drowning” in the media does not occur suddenly without symptoms. The key lies in quick observation and clear decision-making.

The Swimming Rules for Children—Making Safety Fun

Anyone in the water—whether big or small—should follow some basic swimming rules from the DLRG. They are simple but crucial to avoid swimming accidents:

• One should only go into the water if feeling fit and healthy.
• Before swimming, it’s important to take a quick shower and cool down the body.
• Avoid swimming on an empty or very full stomach.
• Non-swimmers should only go up to their chest in water—even in seemingly harmless waters.
• Inflatable swimming aids do not provide reliable protection and do not replace swimming ability or supervision.
• Jump into the water only if it is deep enough and free of obstacles.
• In case of a thunderstorm: leave the water immediately and seek shelter in a solid building.
• Call for help only if there is real danger—but do not hesitate to help others in need.
• To protect nature and other swimmers, keep the water and its surroundings clean and dispose of trash properly.

A moment of inattention, ten centimeters of water—and it can be too late. Children drown silently. But with clear supervision, good preparation, swimming competence, and realistic assessment, parents can save lives—day by day.