HOW IS ISR DIFFERENT?
When it comes to your child, you always look for the most qualified, caring Instructors. ISR is no different. Beyond sharing a devotion to child safety, each Instructor is highly trained and certified in the Infant Swimming Resource program. The ISR Instructor Training Program is an extensive 8 week course including supervised in-water training plus education and testing in subjects such as child psychology, physiology, and behavioral science. All Instructors are required to maintain current CPR and First Aid certification and proper insurance. Plus, every ISR Instructor must complete re-certification annually to maintain his or her affiliation with the program.
Before you take your baby to the local pool for swim lessons, make sure you’ve given equal consideration to the critical importance of swimming and water safety techniques. ISR is the safest swim instruction method nationwide, providing clinically researched instruction techniques that are individualized for each child to ensure that he or she is learning ISR Self-Rescue® skills and the competence required to safely enjoy the water. No other swim class offers a proven system for safely teaching your child to enjoy the fun of swimming, while at the same time teaching life saving skills that are proven to save lives.
Mommy & Me – Hazards
There are thousands of competing swimming Instructors nationwide, and parents can easily find a person or an organization willing to teach swimming to young children. Such programs can be found at any recreation facility, community pool or even national safety organizations or swim school organizations, none of which have or utilize a proven system designed and proven to teach your child how to save his or her own life.
Although many programs for young children focus on a water orientation approach using songs and games, this approach does not teach your child any of the skills necessary for survival. Many lessons such as Mommy and Me teach children that the water is a fun place to play without teaching them any meaningful skills. Remember the water will not be a fun place for your child if he or she is unskilled and finds himself alone in the water. This approach may actually make a child more vulnerable to drowning as a child is taught to be fearless without any understanding of the skills needed for effective swimming. ISR lessons encourage water competence first thereby promoting a safe foundation for a lifelong enjoyment of the water.
ISR – Strengths
The intellectual property behind ISR’s Self-Rescue® technique was founded on continuous research and evaluation by Dr. Harvey Barnett to ensure the safety of the program for your child.
- ISR has trained more than 300,000 babies and delivered more than 8 million lessons across the United States.
- ISR is the only medically sound program proven to save lives
- To date, ISR has 800 documented cases of children using ISR techniques to save themselves from drowning.
Technique
ISR uses positive reinforcement and both verbal and non-verbal cues to teach children as young as 6 months. Even though your child might not communicate verbally yet, he or she can learn to ISR Self-Rescue®. Remember, your child may not talk, but he or she has learned to crawl, walk and run. That is the only skill they need to find themselves in water danger.
Unlike other swimming lessons your child’s ISR Self-Rescue® 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 approximately 4 to 6 weeks
- Offer Maintenance and Refresher lessons to ensure skill retention, continually fine tuning and further developing 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!
Flotation Devices – Hazards
Flotation devices such as vests, arm bands, flotation swim suits, etc, give children a false sense of security and hold them in postures that are not compatible with swimming skills. If a child learns that he can jump in the water and go into a vertical posture and he will be able to breathe, he is getting the wrong idea about that environment. Flotation devices are for children who cannot swim. Children who cannot swim should be not be allowed to learn that it is safe to play in the water while relying on a crutch. Life jackets must be worn in a boat or around the water when there is the potential for an accidental submersion; they are not a substitutes for the ability to swim or for adult supervision. Even after your child has had lessons, no child is drown-proof. Always have adult supervision around water.
Safety
ISR has proven instruction techniques which are uniquely tailored to your child’s needs based on comprehensive assessment and continual monitoring of your child’s health and skill attainment, by certified ISR Instructors.
For your child’s well-being and comfort, prior to lessons you will receive BUDS (bowel, urine, diet, sleep) forms. This sheet tracks the unique physiology of your child, including bowel movements, frequency of urination, diet and meal-times, and the duration of every sleep episode in a 24-hour period. Before each lesson, your ISR Instructor will review the BUDS sheet and ask you further questions if necessary, and then individualize the lesson for your child. If your Instructor feels any of these key measurements are not as they should be, your child’s lesson will not take place. The BUDS sheet ensures your child learns in a healthy and safe environment.