For the last six years or so, Becky Harris, from Infant Swimming Resource (ISR), has made poolside living safer for toddlers and preschoolers by teaching young children water self-rescue skills.
Some families in this neighborhood have participated in the six-week, 10-minute-a-day boot camps for multiple years. Becky, all wrapped in sun protective garments, has become a familiar sight at Las Sendas pools.
“Make another stroke, do this a little more! No, wait, I said to wait, jump on two! Nice job, Jackson!” This is how Becky encouraged Jackson to trust himself. Today, Jackson was almost scared to tears, but after repeated float-and-dock exercises, he lightened up, and wanted to learn more swimming tricks.
Jackson White, who is 3 years old, has trained with Becky for three weeks this season. He took five weeks of instruction in the previous year. Jackson’s fear of water came from a near calamity.
“Jackson fell in a pool at a birthday party,” said his mom, Katie White. “It was a crowded pool, and I looked away for only a second. Nobody saw him go under.” Fortunately, Katie managed to pull Jackson out in time.
Initially, Jackson cried a lot when challenged to move through the water, and tried to dodge this water training. But after the third lesson, he began to love it. Now, he can’t wait to come to ISR classes.
As Jackson has learned to enjoy the exercises, his big sister, Kennedy, 5 years old, now swims like a pro. She started with Becky at 6 months of age. Since then, she has graduated from the program to take general swimming lessons.
No one has more fun at ISR than the Oglesby brothers, from Las Sendas. Tanner, who is 4 years old, and Mason, who is 3 years old, each began training with Becky at 8 months old. “We saw an ad in the Las Sendas newspaper,” recalled their mother, Lisa. The Oglesbys wanted to make their summer splashes as safe as they could be.
“Our boys have practiced floating since they were babies,” Lisa reported. “Now, they are learning freestyle.” They have had to float with winter clothes and shoes on. When they were little, Becky put one on top of the other to teach them how to separate from each other and float to the edge of the pool.
Clearly, Tanner can now swim across the breadth of the pool. Mason also can get himself floated to safety from any point. Neither is afraid of the deep water any more. The Oglesbys boys respect the water, and have learned to manage it well.
“These two little boys are some of the best,” Becky said, praising them after the lesson. Tanner made for such a good picture, Becky put him on her business card.
Summers get really busy for Becky. This year, the ISR instructor has taught 20 little children in Las Sendas, plus another 30 students in various locations. During the cooler months, Becky works at heated pools in the Valley and in Flagstaff.
Becky came to ISR, like so many of her students, through a convincing experience. When Becky was a nanny, the toddler in her care fell in the pool one day. She quickly fished him out. “Next time,” the mother sternly said, “do not intervene. He must manage on his own.” That little boy was taking ISR classes.
Indeed, the boy tumbled into the pool again, going straight to the bottom. Surprisingly, this toddler managed to push to the surface, turn himself around and bring himself to safety by floating.
Observing this maneuver, Becky was initially frightened and then amazed. She decided to take certification training to teach other children the same survival skills. Every child can tell Becky loves what she is doing—like a fish loves water.
It is not always a love at first sight, however. Quite a few children will first scream at the oceanic challenge. Some will scream so badly, it may be hard to bear.
“One little girl was crying loudly during class,” Becky recalled. “An older lady came over and said, ‘She does not like that very much. Why are you doing that? Give her to me.’” Becky said she couldn’t because the toddler’s mother sat nearby, watching.
The upset woman asked the mother, “Why are you letting her do that to your child?”
“Her sister drowned in a pool last year,” the mother revealed. If the older sister had had ISR training, she could have brought herself to safety.
“People do yell at me sometimes when they see me coaching,” Becky admitted. “But I educate them that crying is a sweet sound, even though it is annoying. It’s like a fire alarm. I tell myself I am happy to have you cry like that.” Things could be much worse when all is quiet.
With ISR, children learn to roll back to float even when they are tired. Floating as long as necessary empowers them to save themselves. “That is the difference to any other program,” said Becky. “At ISR, children become good decision makers.”
If you are interested in the Infant Swimming Resource classes for water survival and self-rescue for children 6 months to 6 years of age, you can locate and contact Becky through the Web site at www.infantswim.com.