I recall around 1982 I “rescued” 2 small kids in a pool, but 3 days apart. In each case, it was in about 4 feet of water and the child was just sinking down silently. What links both events was that their parents had taken their eyes off them for a few minutes...what also links both events was that each child had been using those small “water wing” floatation devices on their arms, but now they weren’t wearing them at the time of the near drowning. All I did was step in the direction of the child and pulled them to the surface. It was really quick and uneventful, when I aided each child. Their parents were certainly surprised that their child was in trouble.
My own kids were also in the pool, so I was actually looking out for all the kids there. I really believe that those water wing things give small children a false sense of security, and the minute they take them off, disaster can occur.
The first thing that child needs to be taught is how to swim, those things are incredibly dangerous, pretty much any flotation device is unless you already are a swimmer. My parents never let me wear then until my dad taught me how to swim when I was 7-8 I think