The entire program is based on the senses. Several people thought we were crazy doing it but seeing our kids now they don’t. It wasn’t an easy decision because it can be difficult to watch and it can be expensive. It was something we talked about each year as summer rolled around and finally put all 3 of our children through the program (ages 4, 2, and 10 months)this year. We had first heard about ISR through a co-worker of my husbands when my oldest daughter was about a year old. I would love to hear your stories and experience. What do you think about the “roll and float” method and Infant Swim Resources? I do recognize its value, but personally it’s just not for me ( at least in its entirety). So basically big head + not much body fat = not the most ideal build for floating). I do have a goal, however, to more gently introduce him to the “roll and float” techniques, but I don’t necessarily think that he will be achieving this any time in the very near future, considering his, er, “unique” proportions ( his big ol’ brain is still in the 95th percentile, while his overall weight is only in the 20th. Learning water safety and respect is certainly an important aspect of my approach – but it is recognized that no child is ever, ever truly safe without unwavering adult supervision, so the most important thing in keeping my baby safe is me, not a class he takes or skill he learns at this point. Swimming is about providing an enriching aquatic environment in which my child can learn mobility on a new level, be active, build confidence, and have a fun and enjoyable water experience. I also have broader goals in teaching my child to swim than worst-case-scenario survival. Now, I do understand the argument that having a baby scream for a few weeks is by all means better than a dead baby, but for me personally, I believe that there are gentler ways of achieving water safety and prefer to use those with my kids. However, the Infant Swim Resource technique isn’t really in line with my philosophy, in that the means to achieving this survival floating almost always ( from my witness of the many of internet videos) involves a lot of frantic, panicking, screaming and crying babies. ( At the moment, he adores swimming but back floating is the one thing that he can’t stand. The technique has it’s merits, certainly, and it is actually through learning about this type of method that I began to start doing exercises with Damien ( 12 months) to try and teach him how to swim to the surface and roll onto his back, breath and be comfortable in this position. Children over a year can learn to rescue breathe, turn over to swim, then roll back onto back to rescue breath again.Lessons can begin at age 6 months, and children under a year only learn rescue breathing.Learn, as quickly as possible, at all costs, how to save self in pool through rescue breathing.I have no personal experience with Infant Swim Resource, but from my understanding the program’s goals and emphasis are quite different: The book also teaches parents to teach their kids about water hygiene ( best types of pool detoxification methods, showering practices, etc.), other important safety lessons ( such as always using a lifejacket while boating, no matter how good of a swimmer any child or adult is), how and why to always be joyous and other teaching pointers, and more. ![]()
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