OPINION: Phones distracting parents from pool safety

In the 25 years I've been alive, 965 Australian children aged 0 to four have drowned in pools.

Statistics from the Royal Life Saving Society found that a lapse in adult supervision was the major risk factor in 100 per cent of toddler drowning deaths.

IN THE 25 years I've been alive, 965 Australian children aged 0 to four have drowned in pools.

The shocking statistics from the Royal Life Saving Society also found that a lapse in adult supervision was the major risk factor in 100 per cent of toddler drowning deaths.

CEO Justin Scarr warned parents about being distracted by their phones, paying attention to another child or going inside to grab something.

It reminded me of a video I saw earlier this year of a mother in China.

Security camera footage showed her glued to her phone while her one-year-old daughter struggled to keep her head above water in a pool behind her after slipping out of her floaty.

Despite a little boy's frantic attempts to get the mother's attention and keep the girl above water, it took 90 seconds for her to be helped.

The girl was rushed to hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.

I don't know if she survived, but in the last update I can find she was clinging to life.

I didn't learn to swim until I was in school and I'm still pretty much useless in the water.

When I go to the beach, I never go out so far that I can't touch the bottom and when I try to swim in a pool I usually end up swallowing a fair amount of water.

If I struggle that much I can't imagine how terrifying it must be for a child.

Often when I walk on the beach I see parents watching their phones, oblivious to their children in the water.

There are more important things than scrolling through Facebook.