Record drowning toll sparks push to teach water safety through storytime – interviews and audio grabs

Key Facts:
- 357 people drowned in Australia last year – the highest number on record
- Less than half of young children read to in Australia
- 15 children aged under five drowned, with more than half of these deaths occurring in home swimming pools
- 600 libraries, schools, childcare centres and community organisations across Australia are joining a national push to get families talking about water safety before summer
- Research shows 65% of people who read Kids Alive water safety books were prompted to take action on water safety

Turning storytime into a lifesaving lesson:

- 600 libraries, schools, childcare centres and community organisations are taking part in Kids Alive Do the Five and ALIA Spring Safe Storytime
- 15 children under five drowned in Australia last year – half in home swimming pools
- 65% of people said Kids Alive water safety books prompted action on water safety
- 96% rated water safety books as useful water safety learning tools

In a bid to combat climbing drowning rates, a nationwide campaign is moving early to get water safety messages to children and families before summer arrives.

Spring Safe Storytime will launch with 600 libraries, schools, childcare centres, playgroups and community organisations across Australia hosting free, engaging and educational water safety-themed events throughout spring.

The campaign is a partnership between Kids Alive Do the Five, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA). This collaboration aims to inspire conversations about water safety through the crucial work that libraries, schools and childcare centres are already doing to improve early literacy outcomes for children across Australia.

After Australia recorded its highest number of drowning deaths (357) on record last year, Kids Alive Founder Laurie Lawrence said ongoing education was critical for preventing another devastating toll this summer.

“We don’t want to wait until summer is over to talk about water safety,” Mr Lawrence said. “We want families talking about how to stay safe around water all the time.

“If we can start those conversations early and keep repeating those simple safety messages, we have a much better chance of preventing tragedy.”

While Australia has made significant long-term progress in reducing drowning among young children, 15 little ones (aged 0-4) drowned last year with more than half (53) occurring in backyard swimming pools and another 13% at home in places like baths.

Kids Alive National Operations Manager Emma Lawrence said the figures reinforced why water safety education needed to reach families well beyond the swimming pool.

“Children encounter water everywhere, at home, at grandparents’ houses, on holidays, at the beach, around dams and waterways. Not every child is currently in swimming lessons, and not every family has the same access to swimming and water safety education, but families do visit libraries, schools, childcare centres and community organisations. Spring Safe Storytime will allow us to take important safety messages into places families already know and trust.”

Research into Kids Alive’s water safety book series also showed how stories translated into real-world action.

It found 65%  of readers were prompted to take action on water safety, including supervising children more closely, checking their environment for hazards and reinforcing safe water behaviours.

The books were also rated as useful for learning about water safety by 96 % of respondents, while 94% rated them as an engaging way to teach water safety.

Cathie Warburton, CEO of ALIA, said the results further demonstrated the multitude of benefits that storytime brings.

“Children learn through stories, pictures, songs and repetition yet less than half of young children in Australia are read to regularly. With Spring Safe Storytime we can respond on two critical issues – improving early literacy and water safety awareness – and this could be lifesaving,” Ms Warburton said.

Families can find details of participating Spring Safe Storytime organisations at kidsalive.com.au/spring-safe-storytime