First, a 3-year-old child from Decatur, Texas died in early March after being left alone in the bath. According to CBS11, the mother said she was gone “for just a few minutes.”

Then, on Monday, a 6-week-old baby drowned in Fort Worth. NBC 5 reports the child's mother fell asleep in the tub with him.

In the midst of these two tragedies, Cook Children’s is launching the 'Lifeguard Your Child' bathtub drowning prevention campaign. The campaign's urgent message to parents: “Don’t ever take your eyes off of your child in a bathtub.”

“When talking to parents about bathtub safety, I like to stress ‘touch supervision’ in infants and young children.” said Corwin Warmink, medical director of Emergency Services at Cook Children’s. “This means you are close enough to reach your child at all times versus just watching them from a distance."

In 2018, 13 children were admitted to Cook Children's Medical Center for drowning in bathtubs. One of those children died.

While the ideal age for a child to bathe alone is up for discussion, Dr. Warmink says the general rule of thumb is around school age. “But it really depends on the child and his or her maturity level,” he adds.

Dana Walraven, manager of Community Health Outreach at Cook Children's, reminds parents there is never a safe amount of time to leave your child in the bath. She says if a doorbell rings or you need to leave the bath for even a brief moment, get the child out of the bathtub while you are gone.

“A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the phone,” Walraven said. “We ask parents for constant supervision of their child while in the water. You literally can't take your eyes off of a child while in the bathtub, even for a second. Bath time is a great time to bond with your baby, but it can be a dangerous time in and around water without proper adult supervision."

Experts at Cook Children's want parents to know the "Lifeguard Your Child" message doesn't just include swimming pools or lakes, but bathtubs too. Regardless of where your child is in the water, one message remains a constant: “Don’t leave your child alone.” Studies show that almost every bathtub drowning incident occurred while the infant was not supervised.

“When talking to parents about bathtub safety, I like to stress ‘touch supervision’ in infants and young children.” said Corwin Warmink, medical director of Emergency Services at Cook Children’s. “This means you are close enough to reach your child at all times versus just watching them from a distance. A drowning happens quickly and silently. A baby can slip under the water and parents may not even realize it, if they aren’t right there with the baby.”

Nationally, an estimated 100 drownings will occur in bathtubs. Half of those drownings will be infants under 12 months of age.

Some experts disagree on when a child is old enough to leave a child in the bathe alone. Dr. Warmink says the general rule is around school age, but it really depends on the child and his or her maturity level. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 1 to 4 years old and the second leading cause of unintentional injury related death for ages 1 to 14.

Dana Walraven, manager of Community Health Outreach at Cook Children's, reminds parents there is never a safe amount of time to leave your child in the bath. She says if a doorbell rings or you need to leave the bath for even a brief moment, get the child out of the bathtub while you are gone.

“A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the phone,” Walraven said. “We ask parents for constant supervision of their child while in the water. You literally can't take your eyes off of a child while in the bathtub, even  for a second. Bath time is a great time to bond with your baby, but it can be a dangerous time in and around water without proper adult supervision."

Spring is already proving deadly for children in water.

In less than two weeks, three children have died after being rushed to Cook Children’s for drowning, while another three were admitted to the medical center for their injuries.

Their ages range from 11 months to 3 years.

“Two of the fatal drownings were in pools. One was in a bathtub,” said Magdalena Santillan, Trauma Injury Prevention specialist at Cook Children’s. “Four of the six total drownings were in bathtubs. That’s very unusual. In fact, we hadn’t seen a bathtub drowning at all this year until this month.”

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 1 to 4 years old and the second leading cause of unintentional injury related death for ages 1 to 14.

“There is no amount of time that it’s safe to leave your child alone in water,” said Santillan.

SafeKids Tarrant County, led by Cook Children’s, gives these facts:

• Children can drown in as little as one inch of water.
• Drowning is quick and silent.
• Irreversible brain damage occurs in as little as 4 minutes.

“Safety begins in the home,” said Dana Walraven, manager of Community Health Outreach at Cook Children's and coordinator of the Safe Kids Tarrant County Coalition. “Bath time is a good time to bond with your baby, but it can also be a dangerous time if you’re not watching your child. Support safe habits with adult, not sibling, supervision.”

To protect your child from drowning:

1. Never leave your child unattended in the water.
2. Put the cell phone away. Give your child 100 percent of your attention.
3. Once the bath is over, immediately drain the tub.
4. Store empty tubs, buckets containers and wading pools away after use. Store them upside down and out of children’s reach.
5. Keep doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms closed.
6. Learn CPR.

Click here to learn more about Water Safety and Drowning Prevention from the experts at Cook Children's.