While some general principles of safety, such as supervision, remain constant throughout a child's life, Royal Life Saving’s lifestage approach addresses specific risks and hazards for children and young adults.

As children grow older they become exposed to various risks. As they become ‘mobile’ they have a greater awareness of their surroundings and seek to explore these at every opportunity. This exploratory phase can lead to a child coming into contact with the swimming pool area and other bodies of water such as ponds and water features.

These areas are normally associated with fun and activity and therefore are a highly desirable location for young children.

By understanding your child’s developmental life stage you can be better prepared to deal with the various risks and hazards that impact specific age groups.

Young children are at high risk of drowning. They are naturally curious and attracted to water. However, they are too young to understand the concept of danger, making active adult supervision vital.

Although children aged 0 to 4 years are at most risk, Royal Life Saving recommends some level of supervision for all children under 15. This ranges from being in the water, within arms’ reach and actively supervising children aged 0 to 4 years, actively supervising from the water’s edge for those aged 5 to 10 years and regularly checking up on those aged 11 to 14 years.

These elements form the fundamentals of Royal Life Saving's Keep Watch campaign, which was launched over 25 years ago to keep children safe around water.

1. Analysis of unintentional drowning in Australia 2002-2022