YES! ISR is dedicated to safety, and maintaining numerous safety protocols to promote safe lessons. Your child's health and well-being are closely monitored on a daily basis. In addition, your child's medical and developmental history is a mandatory part of the ISR national registration process, all of which is held strictly confidential. All ISR instructors undergo an intensive and rigorous training program that far exceeds any other training program of this kind. Each ISR instructor is also required to attend yearly conferences, and undergo an extensive re-certification process. Your education in the area of aquatic safety for your entire family is an integral part of your child's lessons, as well. You will receive a Video and Parent Resource Book which educates you about every aspect of swimming for infants and children.

ISR is the product OVER 55 years of ongoing development in the area of aquatic survival instruction for infants and children. ISR can greatly increase your child’s chance of surviving an aquatic accident, even when fully clothed! Developed in 1966 by behavioral psychologist Dr. Harvey Barnett, ISR Instructors have taught over 200,000 students nationwide.

Our number one reason is always safety. Lessons are mentally and physically demanding for little ones and we never want to fatigue or exhaust them. For their little bodies this can be quite the workout, so we make sure to limit that time as we want to be sure to see them the next day. We want every lesson to end of a high point & skill attainment success. The second reason is for retention of skills. It is shown that children in this age range attain skills best within the first 10 minutes. We are sure you know this all too well that attention spans for little ones can be quite short.

We know 5 days a week might seem daunting, but we promise it’s worth it. Like we said before, ISR Self-Rescue® Skills are developed just like any other sensorimotor skill. When learning to walk, crawl, or even ride a bike it’s the practice and repetition that makes for success. Imagine if you only had worked on those skills once a week?Practicing ISR Self-Rescue® Skills on a consistent basis allows for muscle memory to form. Muscle memory is what allows your child to Self-Rescue as soon as they hit the water. This is what provides a skill set that lasts for many months forward.

Every lesson with ISR is one-on-one and individualized for each student. This means we never have more than one student in the water at a time and keep a 1:1 student to Instructor ratio

Lessons for children 6 to about 15 months old focus on teaching the child to roll onto their back to float, rest and breathe, and to maintain this life-saving position until help arrives. Accidents usually happen when kids are fully clothed so all students will practice their skills in clothes toward the end of the lesson series.

Lessons for children 15 months to 6 years or older, focus on teaching the swim-float-swim survival sequence. Children learn to swim with their head down, roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe, and flip back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, where they can either crawl out or until they can be rescued. In a situation where they cannot reach the side of the pool or a safe, stable edge, the children will maintain a float until they can be helped.

Each Instructor has gone through multiple interviews with the ISR team before being accepted into training. Each ISR Instructor has spent a minimum of 6 weeks in the water working beside a Master Instructor and/or Senior Master Instructor, gradually taking more and more responsibility for each child’s lesson. Each Instructor is also required to maintain certifications in First Aid and CPR for Healthcare Providers. In addition, each Instructor is required to attend the ISR National Re-certification Conference each year for continuing education about every facet of ISR, as well as quality control and quality assurance.

Parents do NOT get in the pool for lessons however we encourage parents to sit poolside and cheer on their little ones, as you're their support team. We ask for those distracted, a smile and soft, quiet presence, so they can attend to us. Our research shows that parents often find it too difficult to be objective and effective teachers in the water. Which is exactly why we are here to help your little one master their ISR Self-Rescue® Skills. Parents are invited in to the pool during the last week of lessons (this will be discussed with your Instructor beforehand). During this time we teach you how to maintain your child’s new skills while in the water and how to properly promote their ISR Self-Rescue® Skills. Once they are skilled, we'll teach YOU how to practice their skills.

Yes, ISR recommends Refreshers every 6 months due to rapid growth which can change their skills. We also offer Maintenance lessons for those who want to keep their child in the water regularly.

It’s important to remember that ISR Self-Rescue® Skills are a sensorimotor skill, just like crawling, walking, or riding a bike. The less you use these skills the rustier they get, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten them. This is why Refreshers are important and encouraged, as they help keep their skills in shape and active. Remember, the more your child uses their skills the better, however they will retain them up to 6 months- year. ISR has shown a retention rate of 94-100% up to one year following lessons.

For most children crying is developmentally appropriate and their only way of communicating. Typically once your child gains the confidence in their new skills the crying diminishes. Instructors are used to this behavior so don't be concerned about tears interfering with lessons. They will lesson, and eventually cease. Learning new skills, with a new person, in a new environment; honestly who wouldn’t be upset at first? The cry we hear oftentimes in the water is the same cry you get when you take away a toy, don’t let them eat off the floor, or even put them in their car seat. It’s a protest and their way of saying they aren’t happy to be here, or in the new controlled practice environment. Remember this is their way of communicating with us since most children are not yet verbal. We like to tell parents/guardians that if you can make it through the first couple of weeks, it gets easier. Remember everyday at lessons is another day of building in-water confidence and another day closer to your child being fully skilled. You've got this, together we will walk you through it all! Time builds skill sets, and patience wins this race!! Keep smiling, keep positive and when in doubt smile some more. They need you to be the calm and solid foundation.