KEY POINTS:
More pre-schoolers have already drowned this year than in the whole of 2006 - before spring brings out paddling pools across the country.
Seven toddlers and young children have lost their lives in the water so far this year. By the end of last year, five had drowned.
Anne Weaver, director of Safekids, said twice as many under-fives drowned in New Zealand than Australia and four times more than in the UK.
"The facts can and do speak for themselves - we can and should be doing better."
Of this year's victims, five were around the home, including three in a home swimming pool, one in a bath and one in a bucket.
Ms Weaver said lack of supervision was the largest contributing factor to childhood drowning.
Dr Mike Shepherd, a paediatric emergency medicine specialist at Starship hospital, said it took as little as 10 seconds for a child to disappear under water.
Within one minute, brain and heart injury could occur, he said.
Studies suggested a child would lose consciousness after 90 seconds to two minutes under water, and irreversible brain damage is likely after four minutes, if the child survives.
"Even if a young child is lucky enough to pull through, they can potentially be left with permanent brain injury affecting both motor and neural development," Dr Shepherd said. "And with that comes a long process of intensive rehabilitation."
Safekids, the injury prevention arm of Starship children's hospital, is today launching a drowning prevention campaign.
The two-year programme aims to educate children and parents about supervision, water hazards and fencing.
Its official launch, in Whangarei today, will involve about 200 children from Northland schools competing in the Swim for Life 200 metre challenge.
Guests will include Pio Terei, Safekids Ambassador, and Rob Hewitt who spent days at sea after a diving accident before being rescued. Water Safety New Zealand and Sport Northland also back the project, while other Safekids and safety organisations are holding similar events around the country.
In West Auckland, WaterSafe Auckland will spend an hour with 30 children from Glen Eden Intermediate to ensure they are water-safe ahead of a school camp.
The poor drowning record is symptomatic of a wider problem.
New Zealand has one of the highest drowning rates in the developed world, with drowning the third highest cause of unintentional death.
Public campaigns and water safety programmes have brought the toll down from an average of 181 throughout the 1980s to 143 through the 1990s and to 121 so far this decade.
So far this year 71 have lost their lives in the water - 11 more than by the end of September last year.
