Pruett Family: Hayden and ISR / swimming

We put Hayden in swim class this year. We'd all started to realize that the kid was fearless around the water, and willing to just climb in. I had researched different options for Ryleigh when we moved to Arizona and something I came across was "survival swim lessons". At almost 3, I felt Ryleigh was passed learning what those lessons sought to teach. But I remembered those lessons and knew they'd be perfect for Hayden.

The lessons are done through a company called Infant Swim Resource (ISR). There are instructors all over that are certified by ISR. They teach kids to instinctively roll to their backs when they fall in the water and float, and if/when they're old enough they teach them to roll over to their belly and kick toward a wall. They start these lessons with kids as young as 6 months. The premise is that young kids can get away from their parents' supervision - they're sneaky like that, so give them the tools to help save themselves if they should happen to fall into water unnoticed.

The lessons are intense. 1 on 1 with an instructor for up to 10 minutes a day. Doesn't seem like a lot until you realize how hard they work. And the lessons are 5 days a week - Monday to Friday for 6 weeks. That's a huge commitment - both financial and time. They start slow and work on holding on to a bar in the water. Then they work up to kicking to the bar. Then floating and rolling over and kicking to the bar. Then they start tricks. Tricks are different positions simulating different situations and positions the child might be in when they fall in the water and the goal is for the child to roll over on to their backs, get a breath and float.

Hayden cried every single lesson. He fussed and screamed. He go to the point where when the teacher would come over he'd willingly let go of me and go to her, but he never stopped crying. The teacher explained that it was because she was making him work, and as a baby he's never worked for anything before. So he didn't like the work, and therefore cried.

I will try to post the videos somewhere so that you all can view them. The first time you watch them the first reaction is "get him!" but the teacher has to push the him a little in order to make him figure it out.

After 3-4 weeks the instructor told us to get in the pool with Hayden and make him swim to us. He didn't like the kicking and swimming part, but did great with his floats. He was so excited to go swim to us in our own pool.

During his final week we got in the pool with him so that the instructor could teach us how to do the tricks with Hayden. It was the first time he was excited to swim. He actually got mad when the instructor stopped making him swim in order to show us how to do a trick. The photos below are taken from the session where Chris and I got in the pool with the instructor to learn how to practice with him.

His final week - Hayden had to go through his tricks fully clothed. First it was summer clothes - t-shirt, shorts, normal diaper, and sandals. Then it was winter PJs - a sleeper with feet. Then it was Winter clothes - thick sweat pants, long sleeved shirt, normal diaper, jacket, socks and sneakers. He did great! The clothes didn't affect him at all!

His session only lasted 5 weeks. He refused to do the roll over and swim, so the instructor let him finish at the float, since he had that mastered. Next year he will have to do a refresher course and the aim will be mastering the roll over and swim. But for now, he has the tools to help save himself if he falls in the pool or off the big step when he gets too cocky.

No crying!!