Kids age 1 to 4 most at risk for drowning death, American Academy of Pediatrics study finds By Catherine Park A new report is warning parents of young children who are at the highest risk for drowning deaths and providing the best practices on how to keep them safe. Children between the ages of 1 and 4 are at the highest risk to die from drowning, according to a technical report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in the August 2021 issue of Pediatrics. Overall, drownings were the third highest cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among children and adolescents age 5 to 19 years old, the report found.