First Post -ISR

Welcome to my blog! This is the first time in my life that I have felt the need to do anything like this. Leave it to becoming a mother to make you do crazy things. LOL Anyway, I just need a place where I can share mommy things.

Last month, in September (2009), I put Kyle in a swim program called Infant Swimming Resource. It is a national (and international) program that teaches babies as young as 6 months of age up to 6 years old how to be aquatically skilled. Babies 6 months to 12 months learn how to float, and children 12 months-6 years learn how to do what they call a swim-float-swim sequence. Kyle learned how to do this in 2 weeks! He did what is normally a 4-6 week program in 2 weeks because we were lucky and got in at the end of the swim season. So, we did swimming twice a day instead of once a day, and had to follow strict food and sleep schedules to maintain for the two weeks. Kyle did fantastic (it was mommy that had to do all the work!)! I am so proud of him! He can completely swim all on his own!

I have recently learned how bad floaties are for children! I had no idea! They teach kids to be vertical in the water, which is totally against all principals of learning how to swim. Kids who don't know how to swim and use floaties would sink like a rock if they fell in a body of water. Scary! Needless to say, I'm glad we got him in the program when we did! Josh likes to go fishing, so Kyle will definitely be around water a bunch as he's growing up.

He learned how to swim fully clothed (to simulate if he was to have an accident). Kids usually fall in wearing clothes, so it's good practice to do it once so they can get the feeling of wearing the heavy clothes in the water and still being able to perform their swim-float-swim to get out of the water. Kyle did it perfectly, and we were so proud! He didn't even cry or fuss at all, I think he actually thought it was cool to swim in his clothes. LOL

I think that this program should be mandatory for all children! Why should kids drown if there is a program that can safely teach them how to swim, and if nothing else, float until help arrives! It makes sense to me. Especially here in AZ, there are so many pools and lakes. Too many opportunities for children to drown. Accidents happen, gates get left open, alarms get turned off... and kids drown. I don't think it takes an inattentive bad parent for a child to drown, I think it happens to all walks of life, no matter if you are the best parent in the world or not. Why not teach your child a life long skill that may save their life some day? Not to say that you shouldn't take all safety precautions with gates, etc. and WATCH your children around water! There is no substitute for watching your child! But, you never know where your child might be around water, or who might be in charge of watching them at that moment. It's good for them to have the water safety skills, just in case. :)

Anyway, I am very passionate about the program, if you can't tell! I will gladly talk to anyone who will listen to me about the program and our experience. So ask me questions! :)

My child is aquatically skilled, is yours? They can be!

http://www.infantswim.com/