Parents are warned supervise children as figures reveal 31 deaths PARENTS have been warned that supervision - not just pool fences - is the key to preventing child drownings, with new figures showing a shock spike in water deaths. Thirty one children aged 0-4 drowned in Australia in the last financial year - up from 21 in the previous year. And water safety experts are concerned complacency could be a contributing factor, with parents and guardians relying too heavily on pool fencing laws. The annual National Drowning Report, released today by the Royal Life Saving Society, shows 291 people drowned in Australia last year. Although slightly less than the 10-year annual average of 297 drownings, the figures show steep increases in the death rates of our youngest and oldest citizens. Last year, people aged 55 accounted for 114 of the country's drowning deaths - up 31 per cent on the 10-year average. Rivers, creeks and streams claimed the most drowning victims (67), followed by beaches (65) and swimming pools (43). Amy Peden, national research and policy manager for the Royal Life Saving Society, said swimming pools posed the biggest drowning threat to babies and toddlers. And she warned that increasingly tough pool fencing legislation alone was not enough to save young lives. "We're not sure why there's been an increase (in age 0-4 deaths)... but there does seem to be a bit of complacency, perhaps a reliance on the pool fence alone," she said. We want parents and carers of all children under 5 to remember, first and foremost, the importance of supervision, so actively supervising children around water, being in the water with them, being in arm's reach at all times. Ms Peden said young children had drowned in everything from pet bowls and laundry tubs to buckets and wheelie bins ((note: these were not examples from this year's report)). "It really is true that a young child can drown in any place where there's enough water to cover their mouth and nose," she said. The other thing is that people might expect to hear a cry for help or some splashing, but (drowning) happens really quickly and really quietly. The National Drowning Report also revealed that 41 people drowned in Victoria last financial year. Men accounted for 82 per cent of all drownings in Australia. Of the total drowning victims, 11 were overseas tourists, while 15 recorded positive blood-alcohol readings.