With summer approaching many of us will spend countless hours’ poolside. Although playing in the pool is fun for everyone, it may come with some devastating consequences. Drowning remains the number one leading cause of death among 1 to 4 year olds. In addition, 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe neurological disabilities, which usually results in long-lasting emotional and psychological trauma for the child as well as the child’s family.
Several months ago my mother-in-law sent me a video of an infant falling in a pool and then miraculously he saved his own life. Although this video was difficult to watch, it definitely proved a point. It illustrated that an infant, with some training, can instinctively self-rescue. This video was created by ISR, Infant Swimming Resource.
Infant Swimming Resource was created in 1966 by Dr. Harvey Barnett. At the time, 18 year old Dr. Barnett was an active lifeguard and focused on water safety. However, after he witnessed a neighbor’s child drown, Dr. Barnett made it his mission to not let another child drown. As he started providing swimming lessons for children, he began to notice that non-verbal infants were able to respond to certain types of instruction and learn as well. From there he developed a specific self-rescue technique for babies ages 6 months to 6 years old. Since 1966, ISR has delivered over 7 million lessons to teach water self-rescue skills.
The ISR instructor at first works with your child's initial skills to build competence and confidence under water. Then the ISR instructor will focus on several key aspects; to hold their breath under water, to swim with their head down, to roll onto their back to float, rest and breath, to roll back over and continue swimming until they reach the side of the pool to crawl out or be rescued, and to first learn these skills in a swim diaper and then while fully clothed.
It may sound a bit skeptical to teach an infant or toddler how to swim, but I assure you watching these videos are quit convincing. If you are interested in these lessons for your child there are many ISR authorized independent instructors in the Chicagoland area that provide these services. Mention this article and local ISR Instructor Trish Hinshaw will give a 15% discount on ISR lessons. As ISR states, these lessons may save your child’s life but it is vital to remember that there is no substitute for adult supervision.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Mother's Day Post from Examiner
Mother’s Day is a time to pay tribute to our mothers, grandmothers and wives. Since 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, I want to pay special tribute to my mother and all the women in this world who have battled breast cancer.
As a child we look to our mothers to take care of us and always keep us safe. However, for many of us, our mother's will face breast cancer at some point in their lives. Due to this, we need to switch roles and be there for our mothers during this terrifying journey. For my mother, I was there at the moment of her diagnosis, her follow up appointments and for her double mastectomy. I also spent countless hours searching the Internet for any information that might help save my mother’s life or I would email her inspirational poems or blogs by other women that would help lift her spirits.
My mother was diagnosed with two separate invasive breast cancers in her left breast. Thankfully, her cancer did not spread to her lymph nodes. Therefore, her cancer was considered Stage I. After careful consideration, my mother chose to have a double mastectomy for her sanity’s sake. She wanted to free herself from the great burden of having repeat mammograms and living in fear of those results. During all of this, my mother remained a true champion. Although she was scared about what was to come she still remained strong for all of us.
This Mother’s Day I am grateful to have a mother who is a survivor, who is strong and who is my role model. I am mostly grateful that she is now cancer free. This Mother’s Day take the opportunity to remind the women in your lives to do monthly self-exams, have routine mammograms, and to donate to breast cancer research. If you are unsure of what to give as a gift this year, try giving something meaningful and support breast cancer research as well. There are several websites where you can actually buy nice Mother’s Day gifts and part of the proceeds go to breast cancer research. Can you imagine a world without breast cancer? I can! Happy Mother's Day!!
As a child we look to our mothers to take care of us and always keep us safe. However, for many of us, our mother's will face breast cancer at some point in their lives. Due to this, we need to switch roles and be there for our mothers during this terrifying journey. For my mother, I was there at the moment of her diagnosis, her follow up appointments and for her double mastectomy. I also spent countless hours searching the Internet for any information that might help save my mother’s life or I would email her inspirational poems or blogs by other women that would help lift her spirits.
My mother was diagnosed with two separate invasive breast cancers in her left breast. Thankfully, her cancer did not spread to her lymph nodes. Therefore, her cancer was considered Stage I. After careful consideration, my mother chose to have a double mastectomy for her sanity’s sake. She wanted to free herself from the great burden of having repeat mammograms and living in fear of those results. During all of this, my mother remained a true champion. Although she was scared about what was to come she still remained strong for all of us.
This Mother’s Day I am grateful to have a mother who is a survivor, who is strong and who is my role model. I am mostly grateful that she is now cancer free. This Mother’s Day take the opportunity to remind the women in your lives to do monthly self-exams, have routine mammograms, and to donate to breast cancer research. If you are unsure of what to give as a gift this year, try giving something meaningful and support breast cancer research as well. There are several websites where you can actually buy nice Mother’s Day gifts and part of the proceeds go to breast cancer research. Can you imagine a world without breast cancer? I can! Happy Mother's Day!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Puppy Parade
Well, we did it!! We have just got a new puppy. Like having three kids, a dog and fish was not enough, lol. His name is Scrapy and he is a pek-a-poo. So basically he is a lil' furball like our other dog Rocky. I am happy to report that he is well- mannered, slept through the night and is adorable. Ethan is so excited! The great thing is that Scrapy entertains him and he hits his sisters less. I know this will not last forever but it is nice to have a break for awhile.
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