MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4 years old.
Every year, there are about 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings in the U.S. — that’s about 11 drowning deaths per day.
Each year, the Y teaches more than one million kids to swim.
The YMCA of Orange County offers swim lessons for children of all ages at its Fullerton, Mission Viejo and Newport-Mesa Family YMCA locations.
Marlene Gutierrez, who lives in Orange County, brought her 11-year-old daughter Dahlia Lambert to a recent free water safety workshop at the Mission Viejo Family YMCA.
She was especially anxious for her daughter to learn lifesaving skills.
“We had an incident about a year ago where we both almost drowned. And it was scary because all I heard behind me was, ‘Mom,’ And I saw her little face go down,” she said.