The spike in drownings in Canada among child under the age of five, as reported by the Lifesaving Society, is of much concern. These tragedies illustrate the common, but poorly understood, phenomenon of how drowning is a silent death for children. According to Joseph Torg, a faculty member at Temple’s School of Medicine, young children and toddlers jump into water and sink like a lead weight straight to the bottom. It happens quickly, silently and without notice.