Imagine this: it’s summertime; you’re walking on the hot sidewalk with ice cream in your hand and not a care in the world. You reach home and hear your parent say, “Would you like to go to the swimming pool?”
While in your 9-year-old head it probably sounds like the most foolish question—of course you want to go to the swimming pool!—you say yes, and go look for your swimming gear, ready to have the time of your life.
While going to the pool is undoubtedly a fun experience for the little ones, it can be a beneficial one, too. By frequenting said location, they can work on their swimming skills, which are very likely to come in handy later in the future.
As a matter of fact, statistics show that an overwhelming majority of people in the US believe that it’s important for kids to learn how to swim at an early age. Some studies suggest that the optimum age to begin formal swimming lessons is somewhere between 5 and 7 years of age.
According to ValuePenguin, roughly 72% of consumers in the US have access to a pool in the summertime. However, their surveys found that close to one-in-five of Americans don’t know how to swim.
It’s no surprise that those who don’t know how to swim, don’t feel comfortable saving someone who’s struggling in the water, either, with close to 40% of respondents admitting that they wouldn't be able to help in such a situation.
Unfortunately, sometimes, the people who struggle in the water are children, often – those who don’t know how to swim, which is all the more reason to teach them at an early age.
According to the three-time Olympic gold medalist, Rowdy Gaines, water is a magnet for children. “But we've found a cure for drowning, and it's pretty simple,” he told Business Insider, adding that when a child learns to walk, they should learn to swim, too.
"There's a 88% reduction in risk if they take swim lessons," the swimmer said.
According to Gaines, some kids are slower in learning how to move around in water, while others are natural-born swimmers. So there is no need to panic if it doesn’t seem like your kid has what it takes to become a professional swimmer; they can still learn important—sometimes even life-saving—skills.
"If you take [them] to the wrong provider, it can create fear," Gaines told Business Insider. "But if you do it the right way, your child will learn how to float on their back, which is an essential life-saving skill."
If you’re curious about where kids—and adults, likewise—are likely to find a spot to learn how to swim, Statista revealed that last year, Cleveland (OH) was the city with the largest number of public swimming pools per 100,000 residents in the US. Next on the list were Pittsburgh (PA), Cincinnati (OH), Atlanta (GA), Tucson (AZ), and Washington DC, respectively.
As for where the best swim cities in the US are, Ann Arbor (MI), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA), Raleigh-Durham (NC), Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk (CT), and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, (CA) were reportedly highest on the list.
