The YMCA of East Tennessee will soon launch a program it hopes will put a dent in current drowning numbers across the state.
"We are here in the community and we are here for the community," YMCA Aquatics Director Amanda Roland said.
The new program is called Water Watchers and Roland believes it will help the organization take a giant leap towards preventing drownings from happening in people's homes.
"It's going to teach you the five layers of water safety and CPR," she said.
Roland said recent drowning numbers sparked the idea to start training guardians how to avoid tragedy. But the program isn't just about pools, it also includes teaching safety inside any bodies of water such as bath tubs.
"Never leave your child alone in the bathtub..never even for half a second," she said.
Her first tip centers around keeping an eye on little ones at all times and asking for help if you can.
"Assign someone a water watcher, assign shifts," she said. "Get everything you need so you don't have to walk away."
For really small children she said most experts would reccomend having the right bath time tools. However, another big component is monitoring just how much water is in the tub.
"You have them in the little bath tubs you an buy at any store," she said "It's maybe just a cup full of water, maybe a sponge bath, they don't need to be submerged."
Once children reach about 6 months she recommends getting them into swimming lessons, which are free at many locations.
"We're teaching parents safety tips on how to keep kids safe around the water," she said.
The new program won't launch for a few more weeks but Roland said regardless it's never too soon to talk about helping parents stay prepared around any body of water.
"Turn them into Water Watchers so if we have everyone watching the water when we're in or around water then we hope to keep our kids safe," she said.
Water Watchers will hopefully launch by the end of May and Roland said the organization is working on making it free.