Happy Valley ISR

Repetition and consistency are crucial elements in sensorimotor learning for young children. Research shows that short, frequent lessons result in higher skill retention. Additionally, shorter lessons are safer, and safety is a top priority in all ISR lessons. While ISR safety protocols require the pool temperature to be maintained between 78–88 degrees, the water temperature is still lower than your child’s body temperature. ISR Instructors therefore check students regularly during lessons for temperature fatigue, which is an indicator of physical fatigue.

ISR’s 6-week session length is based on the average time it takes most children to learn swimming and aquatic survival skills. Every child is unique, and ISR’s Self-Rescue® program is specifically tailored to each child’s individual strengths and needs. ISR is dedicated to safety and, therefore, aims to provide your child with sufficient time and the best opportunity to become proficient in their swimming and aquatic survival skills.

Every lesson with ISR is one-on-one and individualized for each student. This means we never have more than one student in the water at a time and keep a 1:1 student to Instructor ratio.

Yes, to the best of their developmental abilities! ISR believes that part of survival for a child who can crawl or walk is swimming. Infants learn the Roll-Back-to-Float sequence and toddlers and children learn the Swim-Float-Swim sequence. The difference in ISR’s program is that children learn swimming *and* survival skills—that is, they learn how to be an aquatic problem solver. At a minimum, your child will learn to roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe and to maintain this position until help arrives.

Research indicates that refresher lessons are important because children change so much, both cognitively and physically, during the first 0–5 years of life. It is therefore important that their water survival skills grow with their developing bodies. The goal of refresher lessons is to help your child adjust their new body size and weight to their existing skill level. The frequency of refresher lessons depends on the child’s age, growth rate, skill level, and confidence level. ISR instructors work with your child individually to help fine-tune their aquatic experience.

Around 85% of children who accidentally fall into the water do so fully clothed. If you have ever jumped into the water with clothes on, then you know that there is a significant difference in weight and feel wearing clothes as opposed to a bathing suit. ISR therefore wants its students to have experience with such a situation. If a child has experienced the sensations of being in the water in clothing prior to an emergency situation, they are less likely to experience panic and more able to focus on self-rescue.

Your child’s health and well-being are ISR’s highest priority. ISR Instructors maintain numerous safety protocols to promote safe lessons at all times. Additionally, ISR’s Registration Evaluation Team (RET)—comprised of ISR certified pediatric nurses—will review your child’s medical and developmental history as a mandatory part of the ISR national registration process (all medical information is held strictly confidential). All ISR Instructors also undergo intensive and rigorous training and are required to be re-certified yearly to ensure quality control as well as safety and lesson efficiency. Parent education in the area of aquatic safety is an integral part of ISR lessons too. You will receive access to the *Parent Resource Guide* to inform you about every aspect of swimming and aquatic safety for infants and children. In short, you will discover that ISR is not only the most effective program for teaching infants and young children how to swim, but also the safest survival swimming program.

ISR instructors teach infants and young children to swim by honoring each child’s individual strengths and experiences. They understand the fundamentals of the behavioral sciences, child development, and sensorimotor learning as it relates to the acquisition of aquatic survival skills. ISR instructors use this education to guide each child on an individual level through the sequence of learning to swim and float.

Unfortunately, babies and young children cannot naturally swim. If this were the case, there would not be so many accidental drownings every year. According to the Center for Disease Control and Accident Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4 in the United States.

No! While parents do not participate in the water during lessons, you are the best cheerleader your child could have. Your positive support and encouragement are invaluable to creating an effective learning environment for your child. Additionally, parents are invited into the pool for one or two lessons during the last week of the session. During this time you will learn how to maintain your child’s new skills while in the water and how to properly promote their ISR Self-Rescue® skills.

Young children often fuss during the first few lessons because they are being asked to do a hard thing, in a new environment, with a new person. However, as children become more confident in their abilities in the water, their fussing usually decreases and may even be replaced by enthusiasm, clapping, and laughter.

No! There is an important difference between true fear, on the one hand, and apprehensiveness because one is not yet skilled in a new environment, on the other. ISR is not like traditional swim lessons: it is a drowning prevention program that teaches survival swimming and aquatic problem solving. Sometimes as a parent, you must make choices for your child’s safety—like putting them in a car seat—because you know they are necessary and important. The same can be said for ISR. Once competent in their aquatic skills, many children cannot be dragged away from the pool—they are simply having too much FUN!