HEALTH AND SAFETY

  • Home
  • HEALTH AND SAFETY

How do you know there is no water going into  a  child’s  lungs?  Will a child aspirate  water  during lessons and have a dry drowning later?  

 

If  the  child  were  to  get  water  in  his  mouth  and  swallow  some,  the  epiglottis,  a  flap  of  cartilage  which  lies  behind  the  tongue  in  front  of  the  entrance to the larynx, closes by a reflexive action  over  the  tube  leading  to  the  lungs  and  prevents  aspiration  just  as  it  does  if  they  were  drinking  water  from a  cup  or a  bottle.   The  typical  child’s  anatomy  is  set  up  so  that  if  the  volume  and/or  speed  of  air/water  entering  the  throat  is  more  dense than air, then the epiglottis, by default, will  send it  to  the stomach and not  to  the lungs.   The  exception to this rule is if a person is unconscious  at which point the involuntary reflex of breathing  will take over.   Every child is regularly monitored throughout  lessons  to  ensure  that  he/she  is  not  taking in water.  

 

 

Are children tired after lessons? 

 

The  lessons  are  only  10  minutes  long  each  day.  The children work hard at learning to swim so we  teach them to lie down on their towel and rest for  a  few  minutes  after  each  lesson.  They  are  temperature  fatigued,  not  yet  physically  fatigued  and they need to readjust to gravity.  

 

Are  there health concerns with having babies,  who are not potty trained, in the pool?  

 

Students swim with a double layer of protection in  the  form washable  swim  diapers.  The  disposable  swim  diapers  do  not  contain  urine  or  feces  effectively.    Each  child’s  bowel  and  urine  habits  are  charted  on  a  BUDS  sheet  such  that  lesson  times  can  be  scheduled  accordingly.  

 

Why do we have to bring 3 towels every day? 

 

In a word, safety.   There is truly a reason for each towel.  The bottom towel protects your child from anything that could be on the pool deck, germ safety.  The second towel protects the deck from anything that might come off your child.  The third towel is to dry and warm your child.  

 

 

Could my child vomit during lessons? 

 

Our goal is that no child ever vomits.  However, it does occasionally happen.  Most often this is due to feeding issues.  We ask parents to avoid feeding children for 1.5-2  hours prior to lessons because having food in the stomach while learning breath holding can cause discomfort.  When a child is first learning to hold his/her breath,  he/she  will  often swallow some air which can cause big burps.  If a burp gets under food remaining in the tummy, it can cause vomiting.  For this reason, we ask parents to maintain BUDS sheets accurately and follow the eating guidelines outlined for your children.  Registration & B.U.D.S You have registration forms, updates, BUDS sheets and sometimes need medical releases to allow a child to participate in this program. 

 

 

Why is there so much paperwork? Who  looks  at all this stuff?   

 

SAFETY.  At  ISR,  safety  will  always  come  before  convenience.  While  it  is  a  fair  amount  of  paperwork,  any  program  that  involves  the  safety  and  well- being  of  infants  and  young  children  needs to be conscientious and very thorough. The  ISR medical team, consisting of an on-staff team of  registered  nurses,  review  the  information  from  the  registration  form  and  provide  feedback  to  your child’s Instructor so that he/she can provide  the safest possible lessons for your child.     

 

Why  can’t  children  have  anything  to  eat  or  drink for 2 hours before lessons?  

 

First  off,  no  one  works  well  on  a  full  stomach.  Your child is going to be working hard in lessons.  We  want  them  to  be  comfortable.    In  addition,  when  children  are  first  learning  to  hold  their  breath,  they often swallow air.    If you get a lot of  air  in  your  stomach  it  will  often  come  out  as  a  burp.    If  there is  food in  there as well,  the air can  get  under  that  food  and  bring  them  up  together.  That  isn’t  fun  for  any  of  us,  especially  the  baby.  Once  again,  we  want  to  set  the  child  up  for  success.    In  this  case,  we  want  them  to  be  comfortable so they can focus on the task at hand. 

 

Why can’t children have apples? 

 

This  is  often  a  tough  one  for  parents  because  many children are introduced to apples early and  most  juices  contain  some  apple  juice  as  an  ingredient.  The reason we ask that you don’t feed  your  child  apples  for  the  duration  of  lessons  is  because apples cause gas.   Apples metabolize at a  temperature  of  104  degrees.    This is  the  same  temperature that they ferment at.  This gas causes  the child to be uncomfortable and feel full and no  one works well on a full stomach.

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY

How  can  you  teach  babies  and  young  children to swim?

 

ISR  instructors  teach  infants  to  swim  by  honoring each child’s individual strengths and  experiences.  The understand the fundamentals of the behavioral sciences, child  development and of sensori-motor learning as  it relates to the acquisition of aquatic survival  skills;  they  use  this  education  to  guide  each  child  through  the  sequence  of  learning  to  swim and float.

 

Can you  really  teach  a  child  who  is  not  verbal how to swim?

 

Yes.   Consider  that children learn  to sit, crawl  and walk before they learn to speak.   Because  we  teach  through  sensori-motor  learning,  verbal  skills  are  not  required  for  a  child  to  acquire ISR Self-Rescue® skills.  We are able to  communicate with our students through touch  and  positive  reinforcement  while  striving  to  set  our  students  up  for  success  every  step  of  the way.    

 

How  do  you  teach  them  to  hold  their  breath? 

 

Breath  holding  skills  are  taught  in  the  first  lesson.  We shape  breath  control  using  highly  effective  positive  reinforcement  techniques.  We continue to reinforce these breath-holding  techniques throughout every lesson.    

 

 

 

How is  it  that  babies  can  learn  to  respond  to the danger of water when they fall in? 

 

A baby does not need to perceive danger or be afraid  to  respond appropriately  to  being  underwater.  If a  baby  has learned  to  roll  over  and float when he needs air, he doesn’t need to  perceive  danger  in  order  to  respond  in  this  manner.  He needs skill, practice  and  confidence to calmly deal with the situation.

 

Is it the baby fat that makes them float?

 

Actually, the primary factor in a baby’s ability to float is the ability to take air into the lungs.   To maintain this access to air, the child must adjust his/her posture.  The difference in positioning for an adult can be inches.  For a baby, this adjustment is reduced to  centimeters.  If a child’s body posture is just a few centimeters off, it can make the difference between the face being submerged or the child  having access to air. 

 

Can’t babies swim naturally? 

 

Unfortunately,  babies  cannot  naturally  swim.  If  this  were  the  case,  there  wouldn’t  be  so  many  drownings  every  year.  According  to  the  Center  for  Disease  Control  and  Accident  Prevention,  drowning  is  the  leading  cause  of  accidental  death  for  children  ages  1-3  in  the  United States.   

 

 

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Why don’t parents participate  in  the water  during the lessons?

 

We do not want the baby  to initially associate  the water with play and fun. Also, it  takes  incredible  concentration  and  objectivity  to  teach  the  baby  how  to  respond  to  an  aquatic  emergency  and  our  research  shows  that  parents  often  find  it  too  difficult  to  be  objective  to  be  effective  teachers  with  their  own children in the water.  Later in your child’s session, we will bring you in the water to learn to be comfortable with being in the water without interfering with your child’s skills.  

 

Do  parents  have  to  leave  during  the  lessons?

 

No way!    You  are  truly  the  best  cheerleader  your  child  could  have.    Your  positive  support  and  encouragement  is  invaluable  to  creating  an  effective learning environment for your child.  The parent will either pool side with the child or in the viewing room looking in on the child.  Every child is different and every lesson is different.  In some cases the parent may start in the viewing room and return after the lesson to give their child praise in the beginning and then eventually the parent will return poolside with children.  Some children do better in the pool separate from their parents in the beginning.  Once they are confident in themselves the parent returns.  In some cases it is better to have the parent pool side the whole time.  You and your instructor will figure the best method for your child.

 

 

CRYING

 

 How do the kids react during the first few lessons?

 

Children often fuss during the first few lessons because they are in a new environment and  around new people. As your child becomes  more confident in his/her ability in the water,  the fussing will decrease.  It is not unlike the first time you tried a new  exercise class, or were asked to perform a task  at work that you’d never done before: the first  time you try a new task it is always  challenging, until you get the hang of it. It is the same for your young child. Your child is learning to perform a skill that he/she’s never  done before.  

 

Will my  child  fear  the  water  because  of  lessons?

 

There is  an  important  difference  between  being fearful, and being apprehensive because  you are not  yet skilled in a new environment.  ISR is not like  traditional swim lessons; it is a  drowning  prevention  program  that  teaches  survival  swimming.  Sometimes  as  a  parent,  you  make  choices  for  your  child’s  safety,  like  sitting in a car seat, because you know they are  important. The same can be said for ISR.     Once  competent in  their  skills, many  children  cannot  be  dragged  away  from  the  pool.  They  are having entirely too much FUN.     

 

 

Why do the babies cry?  

 

Babies  don’t  yet  have  the  verbal  skills  to  express themselves, and crying is a completely  normal  reaction  for a  young  child who is in a  new and challenging situation. However, as the  child’s  skills  increase  in  the  pool,  the  fussing  will decrease. 

 

 

WATER SAFETY

What does  it mean  that  ISR  lessons  are  an  additional layer of protection?

 

Constant, undivided,  100 percent effective  supervision  would  be  the  only  sure  way  to  eliminate drowning.  Unfortunately, as parents we know  this  simply  is  not  realistic.    Infants  and  toddlers  love  to  explore,  and  with  everything  else  that  goes  on  in  our  lives,  as  parents,  we  can  get  distracted.  A  moment’s  inattention  can  allow  a  child  to  move  out  of  our line of sight.   This is not a failure, it is just  part of our busy lives.     This brings us  to  the  next layer  of  protection,  pool fences.   Pool fences exist so that should a  child escape a  parent’s  supervision,  there is a  barrier  between  the  child  and  the  pool.    We  know that children are drawn to water, but we  don’t want them to be able to get to the water  alone.    Unfortunately, pool  fences  are  only effective  if they are used correctly EVERY time.  Because many are not set up to be self-closing  and  self-latching,  they  allow  for  a  high  likelihood  of  human  error.    Even  if  they  are  self-closing  and  self-latching,  if  there  is  not  regular  maintenance,  then  they  can  fail.  Another  aspect  that  is  often  highly  underestimated is  the intelligence of children.  A  child  needs  only  a  chair  or  a  small  table  to  climb  on  to  emulate  opening  the  gate  and/or  climbing over pool fencing rendering even the  best pool fence, useless.      The  fact  that drowning is  the leading cause of  accidental death  for children under  the age of  four  is  a  grim  testament  to  the  fact  that  traditional  approaches  can,  and  do,  fail.  ISR’s  Self-Rescue®  program  exists  so  that,  when  other  protective  measures  break  down,  your  child can save himself.      If  fences  were  required  around  all  pools…then  the  baby  wouldn’t  have  to  go  through the lessons?   Fences  should  be  required  around  all  pools.  However, it is not possible to fence every body  of  water,  or to predict  where  and  when  supervision will break down.     

 

What is the ISR position on floaties and life  jackets? 

 

Flotation devices 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  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  a  submersion  as  a  result  of  an  accident  i.e.  a  boat  collision  or  capsize;  they  are not a  substitute  for  the ability  to  swim  or  for adult supervision. 

 

Does this program give parents a false sense of security and raise the risk of a  child drowning? 

 

In addition to educating infants and young  children, ISR also teaches parents that there is  “no substitute for adult supervision” and “No  child is drown proof.”  If a child needs his/her  ISR Self-Rescue® skills, it means what should  be several layers of defense have failed.  The  first goal is that the child is never able to  access the water alone.  ISR lessons are the last  line of protection such that, should all else fail,  your child has a chance at helping him/herself  by using the survival skills they were taught.