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HANNIBAL, MO. -- When six children from the state of Louisiana drowned a week ago, none of them knew how to swim.

It appears that's all too common in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ten people drown every day across the nation.

The number of non-swimmers changes when you look at factors like race, sex and household income, but some numbers say nearly half of the United States does not know how to swim.

For this Safe Family Report KHQA's Jarod Wells talked to the manager of the Hannibal Community Pool to find out how you can safely teach your kids to love the water.

There are several possible reasons people don't take up swimming.

Hannibal Community Pool Manager Ronny Ferrel said, "It could be financial, it could be lack of facility, lack of interest, fear"

Whatever the reason, it could become deadly when a non-swimmer has to face water.

Leann Starman-Thurston said, "I think it's sad, because drownings can occur and I think all children need swimming lessons so they know how to survive in the water."

Ronny Ferrel has been working at the Hannibal Community Pool since he was 15, more than 40 years.

Ferrel said, "I still teach swimming lessons and will always get a child or two that will, the minute they're in the water, they are afraid of drowning."

So it's important to get your kids to be confident in the water.

Ferrel said, "I think probably the best thing a parent can do, any parent, would be to get their children in the water at a young age, with them, because their child will trust them."

Ferrel says anywhere between the ages of three to five is a good time to teach your child to swim, but it's never too early to get your child in the water.  Leann Starman-Thurston had her now nine year old daughter in the water when she was only a month old.

Starman-Thurston said, "I was trying to teach her how to swim on my own so she would never have the fear of water."

And it worked.

What are your favorite things to do in the water and how much do you love swimming?

Hailey Ann Thurston said, "Snorkling all over the world and I love it!"

Ronny Ferrel says if money is a reason you aren't teaching your children to swim, try to teach them yourself. And if it's you that's struggling getting in the water, he says it's never to late to learn.

Now even though Ronny Ferrel says it's never too late to learn, he added that the longer you wait the more fear you'll build up.

So take the advice of those kids you just saw and JUMP IN!