WHAT YOUR CHILD WILL LEARN
Babies from 6-12 months and children 1-6 years of age learn how to use Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue™ skills in tandem with basic recreational swimming skills. We believe that children should learn to be safe, confident and skilled in the water BEFORE they are encouraged to play in it. After initial lessons are acquired, children return periodically for Maintenance, Fun Days and/or Refresher Lessons to ensure skills are retained and grow with your child.
TECHNIQUE & LESSONS
For the last 40 years, ISR’s hands-on instruction technique has been researched and developed to offer a proven system for safely teaching your child to enjoy the fun of swimming, while at the same time teaching life saving survival swimming skills. Unlike other programs, lessons:
- Are customized and taught one-on-one by a certified ISR instructor
- Offer daily lessons (crucial for skill development and retention), Monday through Friday for about 4 to 6 weeks
- Offer Maintenance, Fun Days and Refresher lessons to ensure skill retention and continually fine tune and further develop your child’s existing skills to meet the demands of their growing bodies.
- Emphasize health, ongoing performance evaluations and parent education
- Provide your child with the competence and confidence to safely enjoy the water from infancy to swim team!
Your child is gently introduced to the water by your instructor. As each child reacts differently, your instructor will work with your child to guide him through the lesson process and to build a level of trust and comfort in the water. Once this is established, your child will begin to learn how to Self-Rescue.
ROLL-BACK-TO-FLOAT
Think of how your child learned to roll from stomach to back as a young baby. A child 6-12 months will learn:
- To hold their breath underwater
- To roll onto their back
- To float unassisted, rest and breathe until help arrives
- To perform these Self-Rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed
1-6 YEARS OLD
You've seen it before, your toddler walks right to the edge of the pool, ready to jump in, whether or not you are there to catch him. His confidence is beyond his skills. ISR training for children between 1 and 6 years of age uses their confidence to help them build competence and the skills to Self-Rescue.
SWIM-FLOAT-SWIM
Children over 1 year learn the following sequence during ISR's Self-Rescue swimming lessons.
- To hold their breath underwater
- Swim through the water
- Roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe
- Roll back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, crawl out or be rescued by an adult
- To perform these Self-Rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed
With these skills your child will be able to swim independently and learn to move at his or her own pace toward the safety of the side of the pool or the shores of a pond or lake and be able to float in any body of water.
Beyond Survival
After your child has learned to swim and float independently, skill maintenance is crucial! As your child grows and develops, Self-Rescue skills need to be fine-tuned and swimming ability and skill level should be advanced. ISR Self-Rescue skills are meant to grow with your child, taking them from infant survival classes and and basic swimming techniques until they are ready for swim team!
Refresher Courses
Children grow and develop rapidly from infants to toddlers and young children. This development process represents improved strength, coordination, and a more finely tuned cognitive ability. In accordance with this growth, children
enrolled in ISR return periodically to participate in Refresher Lessons. These lessons are designed to fine tune your child’s existing self-rescue skills to meet the demands of their growing bodies. Refresher Lessons are recommended every 6 months, as needed. If your child has outgrown a clothing size since her last ISR course, her Self-Rescue skills should be updated as well!
Maintenance Lessons and Fun Days
A maintenance schedule should be set up with your instructor to return to keep your child's skill level up-to-date. Maintenance lessons can be scheduled as needed, from once a week to once a month to continually fine-tune and advance skills and swimming ability.
Some instructors offer Fun Days, incorporating games, toys and even other family members for a fun way to practice and maintain skills! Check with your instructor to develop a maintenance plan that's right for you.
Enroll your child in lessons
Always remember there is no substitute for adult supervision. No one should ever be considered drown-proof, regardless of swimming ability!