Life savers are urging parents to supervise young children around water, following a spate of holiday drownings including the death of a two-year-old boy more than a week after he was pulled from a western Sydney pond.
The toddler was pulled unconscious from a pond in the front yard of the Fairfield West house late on January 2.
He was taken to the Children's Hospital at Westmead but died there on Wednesday, police said.
A significant spike in drowning deaths this holiday period deeply concerns Royal Life Saving.
"This year's figures are around four or five times higher than the average we've seen for this period over the last 10 years in NSW," am RLS spokeswoman told AAP on Thursday.
"Supervision is vital for young children. We urge parents to watch their children closely around water and give them your full attention."
On January 1, a two-year-old girl drowned in a backyard pool in Macquarie Fields, while 23-month-old twins died after being found unconscious in the pool of their family's Kellyville Ridge home on December 20.
