Fewer than half of parents surveyed by Leger Marketing on behalf of the Quebec Lifesaving Society are keeping a constant eye on kids who are swimming or spending time near water.

Leger polled 1,002 Quebecers between May 24 and 28 and found that only 44 per cent of people with children under their care were supervising them at all times when they may be swimming.

This includes rivers, lakes, beaches, backyard pools and public pools. The question did not make a distinction between areas where there are lifeguards.

Twenty-one per cent of respondents said they kept an eye on swimming kids while splitting their attention with something else.

The survey also found that 55 per cent of Quebecers surveyed reported that they plan to spend their vacation time in proximity to some kind of water, be it a lake, river or pool.

This comes after several recent drowning cases in the province, including that of a four-year-old boy in a Laval pool and that of a 17-year-old who was pulled out of the St. Lawrence River on Monday.

Thirty-five people have drowned so far this year in Quebec. The province averages about 80 drowning cases annually, said Raynald Hawkins, executive director of the Lifesaving Society's Quebec branch.

Hawkins told Radio-Canada that "there are maybe seven out of 10 parents who say: 'My kid knows how to swim, so I don't really need to watch closely.'"

He said there should always be an adult charged with keeping an eye on kids in the water.

"We're used to the idea of a designated driver for a night of drinking. It's the same thing," he said.

Hawkins said that it only takes 15 to 20 seconds for a child to drown and that many Quebecers overestimate their children's swimming skills.

Statistics Canada data was used to weight the results in an effort to represent the larger population. A probability sample of this size carries a margin of error of ± 3.08 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Source: CBC News

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Léger Marketing • Quebec • Royal Life Saving Society Canada • Swimming pool • Laval, Quebec • Saint Lawrence River • Quebec • Royal Life Saving Society Canada • Quebec • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation • Child • Adult • Child • Designated driver • Statistics Canada • Data • Statistical population • Sampling (statistics) • Sample size determination • Margin of error •