Two kids have drowned this week at community pools.
The first case, a 17-year old in West Palm Beach drowned on Sunday. The latest case, a 6-year-old boy who wandered into the deep end of his apartment complex pool on Wednesday in Port St. Lucie .
Guyverson Perrie-Charles was swimming with his older brother and other children.
The family is still grieving and did not want to talk on camera, but his uncle said the 6-year old was a sweet and shy boy, who had an artistic talent drawing cartoons. The boy had also just graduated kindergarten this week.
The Peacock Run Apartment complex wouldn't comment about policies at the pool.
But a local swim school is hoping to educate the public that supervision is key to preventing tragedies.
Boca Raton resident Weng Taubman understands the importance of learning to swim.
"I can't begin to tell you how scary it was for me when my son fell," she said.
Months ago, her toddler fell into the deep end of a pool. It could've ended badly.
"Since then, he doesn't want anything to do with water," she said. "He was scared of
Now, her son and other kids are overcoming their fears and learning new skills at the Florida Swim School in Boca Raton.
"I just feel safer when he knows how to swim especially when you live in Florida. We are surrounded by beaches," said Taubman.
Swim instructor Cate Schlembach said their philosophy is simple.
"If you don't know how to swim, don't go in," she said. "Even if your child is a strong swimmer, it could be something as simple as a leg cramp. It could be something as simple as bumping their head."
She said it's important for parents to keep an eye on their child at all times while swimming, no matter their age.
"Just remember even though there's other adults around, don't count on someone else to watch your kids. If there's going be a group of kids in the pool, always designate someone else to be there to make sure someone's watching the kids. Take shifts if you need to," she said.
She also strongly advises not asking kids to look after other kids.
"A 9-year-old is not an adult. They are not there to look after a three old or four year old," she said.
She says parents can't rely on pool gates to keep children away from danger.
"Kids tend to get in. You can't just rely on those gates to be your only boundary. You have to be there and know where your kids are at all times," she said.
If someone is drowning, call 911 immediately. Caution jumping in and going after the person if you don't know how to swim.
"If somebody is drowning, they're gonna try to pull you under. If you're just close to the wall, slowly get in, make sure it's safe and then reach for them. Take a floatation device if there's one around," Schlembach said.
Kids may follow toys or a person to the deep end. Schlembach said measures can be taken to keep that area off limits.
"They go down quick. Kids don't realize it. They could just be bobbing along on their tippy toes, and before they know it. It's over their head," she said. "They should have a rope up, which tells the kids, this is where it gets deep. So they know not to go beyond that point."
The Florida Swim School is offering free swim evaluation courses this summer for kids and adults of all ages.
"We would tell by the way they walk into the pool. Are they nervous? Are they scared? Are they comfortable? Then we would go into simple things as putting their face in the water. If they don't have a problem putting their face in the water and blowing bubbles, that's great," said Schlembach.
Just call 561-288-3817 to sign up.
The school also takes part in the national Make A Splash initiative, which provides free swim classes to struggling families.
