Has Anyone Done ISR Lessons?

Have you considered first staring with Mommy & me swim lessons? Then when she's a little older you can go with the ISR. Just a thought . . .

Hello,
I recently saw a story about this in one of the magazines, maybe it will help you to make your decision. here is the link http://www.parents.com/fun/games-printables/outdoor-activ...

Well, I have formerly been a huge proponent of ISR. My son started at 7 months. He did pretty well the first couple of years, but last year (when he was 2.5) he started getting way too scared. He was panicking a lot in the water and having trouble doing what he needed to do because of the panic. He was very afraid of the water, however, since we've just been playing this summer (he's 3.5) he's enjoying it some, but will freak if I try to let him float or swim alone. He wants to be held all the time in the water. I can't use floatation devices (per the ISR instructions), so there's really little to do in the pool. He won't jump in from the side or anything. He's definitely still very afraid, but I guess at least he gets in. My ISR instructor said that it's very rare that they develop a fear, that they usually become confident swimmers. Now hearing that another child had developed a fear (one of the other posters), I am guessing it's not as rare as she said. Would I recommend it to someone? I'm not sure- I have reservations about it at this point. Will I have my son do a refresher course with ISR? Maybe- he's already doing that kind of swimming, I don't know if I want to change him to a different form. Would I start him at 7 months in ISR if I knew he would develop this fear?- no. But how do you know ahead of time? You don't. I'm sorry if I'm more confusing than helpful. I spoke to my ISR instructor and she couldn't really tell me what to do at this point, unfortunately. I would really like to know the statistics of how many children develop a serious fear vs. those that don't. It would be nice if ISR compiled that info and published it.

Infant Aquatic Survival swim lessons are very similar to ISR lessons. The only difference is that the instructors do allow the parents to be in the pool to help with separation anxiety and some of the instructors offer a year round maintenance program so that the younger kids can continue to maintain their swim-float-swim or the older kids can start to learn basic strokes. Their website is www.infantaquatics.com

My son started these lessons at 13 months. He is now 5 and has been on the Frisco Aquatics Swim Team for over one year.

Hi K., my son has done the lessons and they are great. However, he started around 12-13mos to learn the float. He is almost 2 now and is currently learning the swim-float-swim. They do cry and it is hard to watch, but the end result is so amazing! Good luck!

If I wasn't working, I would have brought my son to ISR lessons at about that age. I (obviously) haven't done it myself, but my friends have had both of their children taught ISR before one year old, and they were thrilled with the results and experience.

My SIL did these lessons with my niece and was happy with the results. There were some residual effects though that she was not happy about. When it came time for her daughter to have regular swim lessons it was very difficult for her to break out of the roll onto her back habit. She was also very scared of the water until she was about 4 (they live in Arizona, so much of your summer activity is in the water). My niece is 5 now and is doing better with her lessons, but still resorts to her old habits now and then. She does LOVE the water now so that is no longer an issue.

My SIL has a younger daughter and chose not to put her in ISR. Part of the reason for her choice is that they moved to a new house and put a fence around their pool and special doors that keep the kids out of the backyard. Her first house didn't have the extra safety measures.

Good luck!

I actually considered doing ISR lessons for my daughter and son. However, I came across this website which is a proponent of gentler teaching methods. Check it out for a different perspective. http://www.babyswimming.com/
Here's an excerpt about de-programming kids who have fear of water due to ISR:

"Raising the bar on teaching with kindness and joy"

"Sadly, it is becoming more common for us to assist by deprogramming those children (who have taken ISR lessons)(and their parents) who have been traumatized by aggressive infant swimming survival programs and imposing infant aquatic back float survival programs. "Do no harm". As we enter the new millennium, parents need to be conscious of the fact that the subjugation, forcing or traumatizing of their child in order to learn how to swim, is archaic, stressful to the child and simply unnecessary. This reactionary approach, fueled by a psychology of fear, could result in "today's solution ending up being tomorrow's problem." It's the "get it done now, I don't care how you do it", mentality. Using force or tough discipline on infants and toddlers demonstrates a great lack of knowledge, experience and understanding of teaching and caring. Teachers and parents need to stay in touch with the feelings and perceptions of the child as the immediate and long term consequences of their actions can impact the child for life, both emotionally and mentally. What is expedient and what is ethical may be two different things. Making infant swimming "survival" back float an imposed priority to unwilling infants and toddlers or children of any age can have a devastating effect on the well-being of the child, as well as society. The same holds true for forced frontal submersions and guaranteeing children to swim or to be "drown proofed" in compressed time frames. Let it be known that crying, distress or the surrendering of one's spirit are not prerequisites to learning how to swim. These young souls need to be treated respectfully and not violated. Wise parents know that there are better choices. "Teach me, don't hurt me". Teaching should be love based, not fear based. As parents and teachers our intent must be focused on sowing the seeds of kindness which will bear fruit of a most wondrous kind-beautiful, caring human beings."

Good luck with your decision!

I have a friend that did it for one day and was very disappointed at how traumatic it seemed for her little girl (a 10 month old at the time) who just screamed the entire time. It was also very impractical for her daughter to not eat for 2 hours before and to track every pee/poop/meal prior to each daily swim lesson (10 minutes each). She switched to Emler and has been very pleased.

You are making a wonderful decision! My daughter recently finished the 6 week infant course this summer. She was 10-11 months. The results are worth all the work!!!

Yes, she will cry/SCREAM... but, you want your baby to cry if she is ever in danger (i.e. - in a possible drowning situation) and/or alone in the water... And, I promise, it gets a little easier with each week. You need to think of it as just "she does not like being forced to work hard" and NOT that she is being mistreated or hurting. Rememeber: You are the parent and it's time for some tough love (I say that very loosely since I have been unable to let my baby "cry herself to sleep).

You will be amazed at the end when the instrutor pushes your baby below the water line and baby kicks, rolls over, and then screams safely floating at the top. Other babies would swallow water and go to the bottom of the pool (and thus drown).

I wish that EVERYONE would give their child this gift! You have made a wonderful decision. Please let me know if you have any more questions... Where is your instructor? We went to the 1 in Dallas. :) E.

I did them at 12months and they are great. Just make sure you do the refresher each year.

I am a former swim teacher and it is never too soon to get your child acclamated to the water. I'm not sure what ISR is, but getting your child in the water and 'trained' on water safety is important if you have a pool at home or are going to be around a pool or lake. Both of my kids were in the water well before they were a year old and I will be getting my (future) grandbabies in the water with me as well. Just be sure you are as diligent with your child around water even if she hadn't had any training/experience in the water.

I do not know what ISR lessons are but from what I have read from the other responses it seems a little over the top I took my son to Emler and he was swimming and jumping off the diving board on his own at 2 yrs old. I had my daughter in swim lessons at 10 mths old and she just did not like it so I took her out and we have been in the pool all summer and she is great now so I will be putting her back in lessons this winter. At Emler my son learned first how to swim to the side and monkey crawl if he ever did fall in and to swim on his back and float they are great and not only work with your kids but also work with you on how to teach them at home. I also have taken my son and will take my daughter to Aqua kids at Heritage Trace not because Emler did anything but only because of Location they both teach the same thing.
Good luck