FAQ Section

I hear you say your priority is survival skills. Will my child learn to actually swim?

Yes. At ISR, we believe that part of survival for a child who can walk is swimming. Children learn the swim-float-swim sequence so that they can get themselves to safety. The difference in our program is that they will learn swimming AND survival skills and how to be an aquatic problem solver. Once your child is developmentally ready, strokes can also be taught for a stronger swim. Floatation devices such as puddle jumpers, arm bands, or strap on foam backpacks are NOT used or encouraged at ANY time. 

Will my child need additional lessons?

Based on our research, we know that refresher lessons are important because children change so much both cognitively and physically during the first 4-5 years of life. It is important that their water survival skills grow with their bodies.

Frequency depends on the child’s age, growth rate, skill level, and confidence level. The goal of refresher lessons is to help your child adjust his/her new body size and weight to his/her existing skill level. Your instructor will work with your child to help fine-tune his or her aquatic experience to assist with building efficiency, which results in self-confidence. This is especially important if your child has not been able to practice any appropriate aquatic skills between seasons. 

What is the retention rate with ISR?

ISR claims a retention rate of 94-100% up to one year following lessons. With that being said, children will explore and may pick up bad habits watching other children or with interference like floating in a bathtub, playing on the steps, using a floatation device, or working with someone unfamiliar with ISR. As your child goes through lessons, you will begin to understand, through communication with your Instructor, what activities may interfere with his/her learned self-rescue skills. Contacting and/or returning to your Instructor in a timely manner is imperative to maintaining effective habits. At Delta Babies ISR, your Instructor will guide you through a parent lesson so you are able to get in the water and learn how to swim with your child. 

Why do you have children swim in clothes?

Because 86% of children, who fall in the water, do so fully clothed. We want our students to have experience with such situations. If a child has experienced the sensations of being in the water in clothing prior to an emergency situation, he/she is less likely to experience panic and be able to focus on the task at hand. If you have ever jumped in the water with clothes on, then you know that there is a significant difference in weight and feel as opposed to just a bathing suit.

Why are lessons 5 days a week and for only 10 minutes? 

The reason for this is multifaceted. First, repetition and consistency are crucial elements of learning for young children. Research shows that short, more frequent lessons result in higher retention rates. Second, most children have fairly short attention spans and will not be able to focus on the task for long periods of time and we want to take advantage of the best time for learning. A third reason is that, though the pool temperature is maintained between 78-88 degrees, the temperature is still lower than your child’s body temperature. Lessons are work and therefore, your child will also lose body heat. Instructor check students regularly for temperature fatigue since this is an indicator of physical fatigue.

If more frequent but shorter lessons are better, then why don’t you teach 7 days a week?

Everyone needs a little break from learning to process the information and in this case to give muscles a chance to recover. In addition, you need to be able to spend time with your family, as does your instructor. Weekends are family time. Periodically, if weather or other issues have caused lessons to be cancelled for numerous days, your instructor may choose to offer makeup lessons on a weekend. This is strictly up to the instructor and based on availability of parents. 

Why does it take between 5-8 weeks for my child to learn this?

The 5-8 weeks is an estimate that is based on the average time in which it takes most children to learn these survival skills. Every child is unique and ISR’s self-rescue program is specifically designed based on your child’s individual strengths and needs. It is important to realize that this is an average which means that some children will actually finish more quickly while others will need more practice. ISR is dedicated to safety and, therefore, we want to provide your child with the time and best opportunity to become proficient in his/her survival skills. We will always honor your child’s needs. 

Do you have children that just can’t learn the skills?

No. Every child can learn. It is my job to find the best way to communication the information so that it makes sense to the child. I start where they are. With that being said, there are several things that can delay progress such as a change in their schedule, sickness, vacation mid session, and consistent interference. All of these will add time on to lessons as your child and I will be reworking learned behaviors to reflect the proper survival skills.

Why should parents enroll their children in ISR lessons?

ISE parents are intelligent and enroll their children because they understand their children’s abilities and want to give them every opportunity to learn. They also feel it is important to teach their children how to help save themselves should they ever find themselves alone in the water. Research shows that there are better times to learn certain things and swimming is best learned later in life (Drowning Statistics).

What other benefits does the ISR lesson experience provide students?

Every child is unique. However, many parents report that once their young children have mastered learning to swim, the resulting confidence in their abilities engenders a positive self-concept that is often demonstrated in other aspects of their personalities. There are also obvious health and other psychological gains.

Are swimming lessons for infants and young children safe?

YES! ISR is dedicated to safety and maintaining numerous safety protocols to promote safe lessons. Your child’s health and well-being are our highest priority and are closely monitored on a daily basis. In addition, your child’s medical and developmental history is a mandatory part of the ISR national registration process, all of which is held strictly confidential. ALL ISR instructors undergo an intensive and rigorous training that exceeds any other training program of this kind. Each ISR instructor is also required to attend a yearly recertification symposium that includes quality control as well as continuing education. Your education in the area of aquatic safety for your entire family is an integral part of your child’s lessons. You will receive access to the “Parent Resource Guide”, written by Dr. Harvey Barnett and JoAnn Barnett, which will inform you of every aspect of swimming for infants and children.

With research, you will find that ISR (verified and certified ISR Instructors through Infant Swimming Resources) is the safest survival swimming program, but also the most effective for teaching infants and young children. 

What is ISR and how is it different from other swimming programs?

ISR is the product of over 55 years of ongoing development in the area of aquatic survival instruction for infants and children. ISR’s primary focus is to teach your child to become a productive swimmer or floater in any depth of water. The goal of ISR is that your child becomes an “aquatic problem solver”. ISR will greatly increase your child’s chance of surviving an aquatic accident, even when fully clothed.

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. They understand the fundamentals of the behavioral sciences, child development, and of sensori-motor learning, verbal skills are not required for a child to acquire 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.

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 self-rescue skills. We are able to communicate with your 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. We do NOT teach a child to blow bubbles as that causes your child to sink below the surface and makes it harder to maintain proper breath control.

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/she needs air, he/she doesn’t need to perceive danger in order to respond in this manner. He/she needs skill, practice, and confidence to calmly deal with this 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 CDC and Accident Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1-4 in the United States. 

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

We do not want the baby to initially associate the water with the love, attention, and affection of the parent while in the water. Also, it takes incredible concentration and objectivity to teach 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.

Do parents have to leave during the lessons?

No! 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.

How do the kids react to 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 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 has 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 sear, because you know they are important. The same can be said for ISR.

Fun can be defined as when skill meets challenge. Once competent in their skills, many children cannot be dragged away from the pool because they are having entirely too much fun! It is also important that your child learns to respect the water.