Journal article
Toddler drowning prevention through self-rescue: can 1-year-old children learn to float?
Injury prevention
11/11/2025
DOI: 10.1136/ip-2025-045688
PMID: 41219144
Abstract
Objectives Drowning is a leading cause of toddler death. Prevention must be multifaceted but could include training children to protect their own safety in water. Efforts to teach toddlers self-rescue water survival skills are widely promoted but scientifically untested. A pre–post study evaluated whether self-rescue training effectively teaches 1-year-olds to survive independently in water.
Methods 50 toddlers aged 12–23 months participated in this phase I clinical trial. Structured in-water behavioural assessments evaluated self-rescue ability both at baseline and after 20 training sessions of 10 min each, scheduled daily on weekdays for 4 weeks, using behavioural strategies to teach toddlers self-rescue skills.
Results At baseline, all participating toddlers failed the first assessment phase, which required safe independent engagement in water for 5 s. Following training, 40 of the 48 retained toddlers (83%) passed all 5 assessment phases without failure, including safe independent engagement in water for 3 min while clothed following face-down release. When offered a second attempt to pass advanced assessment phases, 47 of the 48 (98%) successfully completed all assessment phases. Parents generally judged the programme positively, although a minority felt their toddlers experienced ‘a little trauma or distress’, especially in early training stages.
Conclusions Almost all 1-year-olds appear capable of learning skills to survive independently in water while clothed for short time periods, offering an additional strategy to multi-layered toddler drowning prevention efforts. Given training intensity and potential for negative emotions, parents and paediatric providers should consider cost:benefit ratios; in particular, at-risk toddlers might benefit from self-rescue training.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Toddler drowning prevention through self-rescue: can 1-year-old children learn to float?
- Creators
- David C Schwebel - University of Alabama at BirminghamAnna Johnston - University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Injury prevention
- DOI
- 10.1136/ip-2025-045688
- PMID
- 41219144
- NLM abbreviation
- Inj Prev
- ISSN
- 1353-8047
- eISSN
- 1475-5785
- Publisher
- BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
- Grant note
- NA / Cast Water Safety Foundation, Forest Park, IL
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 11/11/2025
- Academic Unit
- Research Administration; Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9985026456802771
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