"To do it for fun, we need to know how to do it well," said mother Jenny Crank.
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The YMCA offers classes to kids as young as 6 months old.
"You want to start them out really early so that they don't have that fear of the water, and they also know the boundaries," explained DeAnna McDougal.
Harris County ranks first in the state for child drownings. And statistics show immigrants are less likely to know how to swim than those born in the country.
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That's a big deal in a place like Alief, which many consider to be the most international part of our already diverse area.
So, many classes at the Alief Family YMCA are free, and translators are always available to help.
"Language is not a barrier," explained McDougal. "Financial situations are not barriers."
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