After the age of 1 they learn the swim- float-swim method. They learn to roll onto their backs until they get their breath, then swim (just kicking with head underwater), float, swim as many times as is necessary until they get to the side of the pool and can get out of the water on their own.
The lessons are very short- max 10 minutes- so the kids don't get to fatigued. Also because little people have short attention spans!
Today Asher started learning to hold onto the wall. It was pretty tough and traumatic! When we arrived at the pool he was so excited and it was all I could do to keep him out of the water until his turn (we watched the end of one lesson and a whole other lesson). He kept saying "play play." When Amy took him into the water he was a little unsure but ok. She quickly ascertained that he is strong enough for the lessons and he takes a good big breath BUT he does not close his mouth, which she said is going to be a challenge. She gently let go of him while he was vertical in the water and let about half of his face go underwater- up to his nose. His brown eyes got really big and he looked like he was panicking. She grabbed his arm and showed him where the wall of the pool was. She did this a few times and then held him. He immediately hugged her while crying and started saying 'bye bye, bye bye.' Broke my heart! He kept reaching for her when he would go partially under and she would not hold him- she kept putting his hands on the wall. She explained that it's because if he ever falls into a pool nobody is going to be there to hold him- he has to learn to find the wall.
She also put him totally under I think twice, and again led him to the wall. She would look at him before she let go of him and showed him how to close his mouth. He was crying so he didn't do it, but...eventually I suppose. He'd look at me when he was put on the wall and I'd just say "good job buddy, good grabbing the wall." This is what the parent resource book told me to do!
It's scary to watch someone else be in charge of your child and let them go underwater! Amy has about 19 years of experience though, and I really like her. She is a mix of encouragement and hard worker. The lesson only lasted about 6 minutes because of the amount of water he was swallowing. He cried the whole time- it was a long 6 minutes! She laid him on his side on the pool deck and I snuggled him for a minute. She told me to just keep telling him he did a good job grabbing the wall, so I've been telling him all day.
Amy said that tomorrow when he comes he will not be happy and will resist going in the water, but that the second day is usually the worst day. Obviously we worry that this will make him not like the water anymore, but the two lessons we watched before his gave me hope- the kids were very happy to be in the water. And of course should these skills be needed, it's all worth it. Despite the scared look on his face, I can only imagine how terrified he would be if he fell in and didn't have the skills to help himself. Makes me teary!
Once I dried him off Amy told me she has a cookie stash and that he could have one. This made him happy! He bounced back pretty quickly and was happy to watch his show in the car on the way to Target. The only moment of somewhat out of character behavior was when I was putting him in the car from the stroller and he laid his head down on my shoulder for about 3 minutes. We just stood in the parking lot hugging! He is generally a lovebug, but not in a parking lot! Hannah was already in the car:).
So anyways, that's my synopsis of the first day of lessons. The lessons are every day, M-F for 4-6 weeks. I have to fill out a form everyday on his diapers, sleep and what he eats. They want to know everything about their normal habits so they can keep them as safe as possible in the water. There is a short list of foods he can't eat for the duration of the lessons (apples, spinach, peaches to name a few) because they are hard to digest and may interfere with his stomach working properly which I guess can make him uncomfortable in the water.
Here's a couple happy pics from just before nap! :) Thanks for reading. I'm also posting the link to a video done by NBC about ISR. It's pretty neat and I know we will be glad we did it- priceless babies!
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/controversial-class-wants-babies-learn-swim-walking-n148501 or click on the "ISR Video" below
ISR Video
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