Samantha Critchell Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) There is no better life preserver than an attentive parent or caregiver. Thats the message from the National Safe Kids Campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury, which recently released a study on childhood drowning. Drowning is the second leading injury-related killer of 1- to 14-year-olds, totaling 900 deaths a year, according to the report called Clear Danger: A National Study of Childhood Drowning and Related Attitudes. Clear Danger, which was co-sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, focused on the specifics of 496 drowning deaths in 2000 and 2001 in 17 states. Safe Kids also conducted a survey of parents and children to determine knowledge and behavior concerning water safety. Of the deaths studied, another person, usually a family member, was supposedly supervising the victims in 88 percent of the incidents. Supervision was defined as being in the care of another individual, not necessarily in direct line of sight. Several parents said they also talked to others, read, ate and talked on the phone while supervising and some even acknowledged to closing their eyes and relaxing, reports Angela Mickalide, program director of the National Safe Kids Campaign. This is passive supervision. Were promoting active supervision, Mickalide says. She suggests using a designated water watcher, a parent or other adult who gives full attention to kids in and near water for an established period of time. If adults take turns, theyll also get to enjoy their day at the beach or pool, too, because when its their time to read or relax, they can give that their full attention, she says. Keeping children in the line of sight is particularly important because drowning is a silent killer, Mickalide says. It (drowning) happens quickly and silently. ... What you see on TV and in movies is a misconception. Children are incapable of screaming out for help when theyre drowning. Theyre using all their respiratory capabilities just trying to get as much air as possible into their bodies, they dont have air power to scream. Screaming takes a lot of air to do. Mickalide also says that parents are unlikely to see children waving their hands in the air to get help because putting their hands above their head will make the body more linear, making it easier to sink. Child drowning deaths have declined 40 percent between 1987 and 2001, but there were still 859 unintentional drowning deaths in 2001 and in 2002, an estimated 2,700 children under 14 were treated in hospitals for near-drowning. The Safe Kids report says 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. Since there is no one solution that can prevent childhood drowning, Safe Kids advocates a multi-prong strategy: active supervision, safe water environments, proper gear and education. A safe environment includes four-sided isolation fencing around pool and spa areas, and designated and supervised childrens swim areas at public areas. Almost all children in the reviewed cases who drowned in pools or open bodies of water were not wearing a personal floatation device, which is recommended for all children on boats, in or near open bodies of water or participating in water sports. Personal floatation devices should meet U.S. Coast Guard guidelines and fit snugly and not allow the childs chin or ears to slip through the neck opening, according to Safe Kids. These floatation devices are different than air-filled swimming aids, such as inner tubes or swim wings, which are not safety devices. Meanwhile, parents do not always model safe behavior with 23 percent of those surveyed reporting that they dont wear floatation devices when theyre on a boat. There is no conclusive evidence that swimming ability is a factor in drowning but Safe Kids notes that oftentimes swimming lessons also include survival skills training. Drowning, of course, doesnt happen just at swimming pools and beaches; kids, and adults, for that matter, can drown in as little as one inch of water. All it takes is for a childs mouth and nose to be covered, this will keep oxygen from getting to the brain, says Mickalide. A child likely will lose consciousness two minutes after submersion, with irreversible brain damage occurring within four to six minutes and most children who die are found after 10 minutes, according to the Clear Danger study. Safe Kids other water-safety recommendations for children include: Children who cannot swim should be within arms reach of an adult at all times. Limit access to water sources in the home by installing and using appropriate safety devices, such as door locks and toilet latches, and by emptying and inverting buckets and wading pools immediately after use. Children should be enrolled in swimming lessons which also address water-survival techniques by age 8. Teach and enforce some general rules, such as always swimming with a buddy and an adult present; never dive into a river, lake or ocean; and, if someone is in trouble in the water, call for help and throw something that floats to the victim instead of entering the water and trying to save the victim.