SURVIVAL SWIMMING PROGRAM
ISR’s technique and goals are unique. Swimming simply means “to move through the water”.
By this definition, a baby playing in the water with mom could be “swimming” to the steps with mom’s gentle push. Or a toddler with great lung capacity could “swim” 8 feet to the steps.
This is why ISR emphasizes that students in this program can SURVIVAL SWIM. Survival 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. Take that baby and place him face down in the middle of the pool. The ISR baby would simply rollback to a resting float and smile at mom. Take that toddler and place him 20 feet from the steps. The ISR toddler will simply swim, rollback to breathe, and then continue swimming to the steps. Most importantly, the ISR student will be able to survival swim while fully clothed.
Keep these guidelines in mind when deciding on a swimming program:
· Choose a program that will teach your child how to handle himself in the water before he is encouraged to play in it. The water is not a fun, safe place to play if your child does not know how to swim.
· Question everything about the swimming program. Question the qualifications of the instructor and the program. Ask what specific skills will be learned and techniques used to teach these skills.
· Be sure your child will learn how to swim, turn on his back to float, rest and breathe and flip back over to swim to the wall. This sequencing of skills is very important to get your child to safety.
· Make sure all swimming lessons are on an individual basis. Never enroll in a program where the instructor must divide attention in the water between several students learning to swim.
· Watch several lessons, ask questions of other parents whose children are enrolled in the program and ask your pediatrician about any swimming program.
· Be sure your child's instructor can thoroughly explain hyponatremia (water intoxication) to you. And, ask what precautions are taken before and during the lesson to avoid such a situation.
· Do not allow your child to be worked with in the water longer than 10 minutes. Any longer than 10 minutes could be potentially dangerous to a small child.
· Do not enroll your child in any swim program before the age of 6 months.
· Do not enroll your child in any swimming program that uses any type of flotation device. Flotation devices can lend a false sense of security to both you and your child.
· Do not allow anyone to throw your child into the water. This is extremely dangerous and could result in brain damage.
· Do not believe that your child or anyone will be drown-proofed by any lessons. No one is ever drown-proofed. Constant supervision in and around the water is the only sure way to prevent drowning.