There’s no doubt that all children need to learn how to swim. Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that for every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.
But, when is the right time for parents to enroll children in swimming lessons? And what is the best method to teach children how to swim?
Research conducted by the CDC shows that participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning among children aged 1 to 4 years. Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) supports the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) position that determining the best age to enroll a child in swimming lessons is an individualized decision for families.
ISR Certified Instructors consult with parents on each child’s readiness to participate in ISR Self-Rescue™ survival swimming lessons. Parents provide a complete medical history, which is thoroughly reviewed prior to the child’s first lesson, and parents complete an important BUDS (bowel, urine, diet sleep) form at each subsequent lesson to further individualize lessons to meet each child’s unique physiological needs. This ensures each ISR Self-Rescue™ survival swimming lesson is safe, efficient and individualized for our students, which has resulted in more than seven million safe survival swimming lessons and makes ISR the nation’s safest survival swimming lesson provider.
For parents who are unsure about the difference between survival swimming lessons and other swimming programs, ISR recommends parents consider the many ways children encounter the water. Parents simply cannot afford to choose a swimming program that does not teach survival techniques. Survival swimming programs such as ISR Self-Rescue™ survival swimming lessons empower children with skills to survive should they reach the water alone. “Mommy and Me” and other swimming lessons often leave parents and children feeling overconfident and tempt children to play in the water without first arming them with the skills to survive. ISR Certified Instructors emphasize safety, continuous program evaluations and parent education to ensure each child receives a comprehensive water experience that will prepare them for the unexpected.
Interested in learning more about how and when to enroll your child in swimming lessons? Visit our ISR Certified Instructor Locator to contact a Certified Instructor in your community.
