SYLVANIA, Ohio — According to Centers for Disease Control roughly 15% of U.S. adults, about 40 million people, say they don't know how to swim.
These admissions, combined with a startling increase in the number of young children drowning,
have led schools like Sylvania's Goldfish Swim School on Brint Road to redouble their efforts to increase water safety education.
"We just want to bring awareness to that and hopefully prevent some of that by doing some swim lessons and teaching kids how to be safer around the water, grab onto the wall, edges of the pool, things like that," said Brandon Koenemann, Pool Operations Manager at Goldfish Swim School - Sylvania. "So it's not so scary when it's time to start swimming."
Koenemann says they're equipping people with the right skills to survive in the water.
The school offers indoor, year-round, swim instruction to children 4 months to 12 years-old.
"We do at least one safety skill in every single lesson with all the different levels, no matter how old a kid is. So especially with those younger levels, starting ages three to five, what we'll do a lot of the time is we'll have them in those junior classes. And at the end of class, we'll start moving them over to the wall right here, where they'll start like holding onto the wall," said Koenemann.
Koenemann says the colors people wear in the water are important especially when it comes to drowning.
"Bright colors on swimsuits are super important. It makes you very easy to see for the lifeguards, lifeguards and other instructors in the water, other people in the water. They'll see a bright color on the bottom of the pool floor rather than if it was a dark or a blue color, something like that that blends in easier. It's harder for instructors and for our lifeguards to see," said Koenemann.
Survey data shows drowning in children 1 to 4 years old were highest in racial and ethnic minorities.
In addition over half of U.S. adults say they've never taken a swim lesson.
Lack of access to classes is one big issue as well as lack of swimming areas.
Still, more than 80 percent of young non-swimmers will potentially visit a pool or beach this summer.
"Making sure we designate a water safety guardian. That is super important. Someone who's in charge of watching those kids, That is their number one job at the pool and making sure we're wearing brightly colored swimsuits", said Emilie Perkins, General Manager, Goldfish Swim School-Sylvania.
If your interested, Goldfish Swim School offers indoor, year-round swim instruction to children 4 months to 12 years-old.
For more information, go to their website right here.
MORE FROM WTOL 11: