The Infant Swimming Resource technique and goals are unique. Swimming simply means “to move through the water”. This definition is very limited to any movement. This is why ISR emphasizes more than just "swimming skills" ISR strives to teach students comprehensive Self-Rescue (TM) skills. Self-Rescue (TM) swimming is the ability to move through the water independently while breathing effortlessly. Effort takes energy, and children have limited sustainable energy. A child swimming and lifting his head to breathe is expending great amounts of energy to attain air. This technique will soon fatigue a child. The rollback to a float to breathe is effortless offering unlimited rest and air while in the water, thus equipping the child with aquatic survival skills to potentially save himself in an emergency situation. Most importantly, the ISR student will have practiced all the Self-Rescue (TM) skills while fully clothed.
ROLL BACK TO FLOAT
(6 months - walking)
This is a basic survival skill for students who are crawling. He or she will be taught to rotate from a face-down position in the water to a back float. The baby will be taught to rest and breathe on his or her back until help arrives. A child who enrolls in the ISR program as an infant will learn the correct posture for swimming early which will facilitate learning at the next level. The typical infant will take approximately 5 - 6 weeks to attain these skills.
SWIM-FLOAT-SWIM
(Walking - 6 years old)
This series of Self-Rescue (TM) skills is taught to children who have begun walking. Toddlers are taught to utilize that cross-coordinated motion for movement through the water. He or she will be taught to swim face down with eyes open; roll on his or her back to float, rest and breathe when he or she needs air; and then flip over onto his or her stomach to continue swimming until he or she reaches a point of safety. This swim-float-swim sequence can be repeated as many times as is necessary to reach safety. This skill set can be achieved with 5 lessons per week in approximately 6-7 weeks
Infant Swimming Resource uses a unique set of prompts and procedures designed to teach both the verbal child and the non-verbal infant survival swimming skills. The technology required to teach an infant to handle himself in the water is primarily found within sensorimotor learning and infant psychology and development. The practical application of this, however, must be custom-tailored to your child's physical abilities. In addition to teaching your child, ISR has developed a complete program of parent education concerning many facets of drowning prevention. The Parent Resource Guide is available to all parents registering their children in the program and it includes such topics as attitude and emotions, physiology and safety before, during and after the lessons, family aquatic safety and other valuable information.
TYPICAL LESSON FORMAT
LESSONS
Your childs lessons are 5 days a week, Monday-Friday. Each class will be approximately 10 minutes long with just one child and the instructor in the water. Much is accomplished in a short but very intense private lesson. Your child will have the same 10-minute time slot each day. You can expect your child to finish in approximately 5 - 6 weeks for floating or 6-7 weeks for swim-float-swim, however, ISR lessons are always tailored to each child's individual emotional and physical pace. See Lesson Fees for more information regarding cost.
REFRESHER LESSONS
ISR recommends that all students, especially between the ages of 12 months and 4 years, return to an ISR Instructor once a year for refresher lessons. Refresher lessons usually last about half of the time it took the child to become fully skilled the first season.
Children grow physically, emotionally, and mentally very quickly in the first six years of their lives. Their center of gravity will change as their limbs become longer and their concept of water changes as their brains become more advanced.
Refresher lessons help children assimilate their new bodies and minds to the skills they previously learned so they can continue to swim safely and effectively. It is important to remember that your child does not "forget" the skills acquired with ISR. However, most children are not regularly in the water in the winter and during this extended period of time your child will mature mentally and physically. Refresher Lessons are designed to help your child adjust his/her swim and float to his/her new more mature body and mind and to reinforce his/her confidence in the water.
