Infant and Child Drowning Prevention

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.