BRYAN, Texas — There is a new swim school in the Brazos Valley and it's keeping kids as young as 4-months-old safe in the water.
Over the weekend, the grand opening of Aqua-Tots not only had free swim lessons, but a water slide, petting zoo, face painting and more. Amber Salvato, the Owner and General Manger, has been wanting a place in the community where learning to swim is as easy as your abc's.
"The first line of defense is adult supervision: that's A. Barriers around our pools: that's B, and then C for classes. Formal swim education is just so important," said Salvato.
The CDC has said drowning is the leading cause of death of children under five. The Aquatic Manger Anna Mason told 15 ABC it's been fulfilling to see coaches and parents want to work together towards teaching children swim safety tips they will use for the rest of their lives.
"We teach them some survival skills while they're in class and we also make it super fun. Our goal is to have every kid water-safe and get them swimming," she said.
Mason says it's also a bonding experience for everyone.
"There's a lot of relationship stuff going on over here, between our families, our coaches and our community, and we like to say once you come here, you're part of the Aqua-Tots family," she said.
A local mom came with her daughter, who learned to swim early on. She said it's been amazing seeing so many other parents starting to help their children do the same.
"It's great staff, great resource and—" Morgan Pavlots said and her daughter, Riley, adds,"the sooner you learn to swim, the better."