Thank you for taking interest in Rockett ISR Mesquite for your child!

Before signing up for ISR lessons, please take time to review the following information. While understanding that this is a lot of information to intake, I want you to have all the information you need when deciding if ISR is a fit for you and your child. This information may ease your mind about concerns you might have. Taking the time to read this now will also make your child's (and let’s face it, your) first day go much smoother.

Signing up and Registering for Lessons

• Once you have completed the ISR registration and paid the $105 fee, you will receive an email from noreply@infantswim.com. Please check your spam folder if you do not happen to see this in your in-box. If your child's registration is pending, the ISR registration team may need further medical/developmental information on your child. Keep an eye on your emails in case they need further clarification in order to approve the registration. The ISR Registration Team wants to make sure we are providing the safest possible lessons for your child, and the information they request will help to do that. 

• You will also receive a .pdf file that contains the online version of our Parent Resource Guide.  This book will answer many of your questions and educate you about our method of teaching ISR Self-Rescue skills, as well as general water safety and safeguarding your home aquatic environment.

• If you have a question or a concern regarding lessons, please feel free to contact us at any time. I make every effort to discuss your child's progress at the end of each lesson. If you would like to speak with me privately, please send me an email and we can arrange to speak by phone later in the day.

• Please be sure to read and sign all documents in your portal.  You will receive a link to view and sign these in your confirmation email once you have scheduled.  One month before lessons, you will receive an email with my ISR registration link.  You want to look these over especially carefully to ensure your child's lesson experience is a great one! You will be required to sign this document electronically, so it is important that you are familiar with it. If you have other caregivers bringing your child to lessons, please be sure they review this document as well. Our goal is for each child to have a smooth and enjoyable learning experience, and parents play a very big role in ensuring that the child's experience at the pool is a positive one!

Required Items For The First Day Of Lessons

• TWO swim diapers; preferably 2 cloth or one cloth over top of a disposable Little Swimmer diaper

• THREE towels (refer to Lesson Guidelines doc below and Parent Resource Guide for reasons on why 3 towels)

What To Expect The First Day 

The first day, I will have a lot of information to talk through with you at the beginning of the lesson. The first lesson will likely be very short. I will begin to try to establish a rapport with your child. We will look to establish how to hold their breath, and infants will get started learning their back float.

It is possible for that your child may be upset on the first day of lessons. This may carry over to the second and third day as well. For many students, this starts to get better by the end of week one. Some students may cry or be upset during lessons for more days. This is totally normal!  I as your instructor want to make you aware of this because it at times might be very hard for parents to see their children upset. This is also a very normal experience for parents during lessons as well! Please remember these emotions do not necessarily mean that your child is "fearful". Crying might mean your child is feeling a little anxious about trying something new or frustrated in a lack of control over their experience during lessons. We can all get a little nervous or frustrated when we attempt a new skill, especially with a strange new person (me the instructor). As your child’s skills begin to grow and they face the challenges at hand, they should begin to enjoy the experience. Our goal is to set every child up for success as often as possible throughout lessons so that they can build confidence as quickly as possible. In most cases, the emotion will reduce within the first week or two.

As the parent, you are the best cheerleader your child could ask for. Smile at your child and praise them for their hard work and efforts! Always keep the conversation positive and focused on what they're learning to do. You will read in the Parent Resource Guide about the importance of your positive attitude and emotions with regard to lessons. Keep in mind that your child is constantly observing you and taking their emotional cues from you. Maintaining a positive, supportive attitude throughout your child’s ISR lessons will have a big impact on your child's ISR lesson experience!

After the lesson, we will hand your child out of the pool, laying them on their left side. Please lay two of the towels down on the deck. We will place your child on top of them. Use the 3rd towel to cover and dry your child. Allow them to lay there for a few minutes before getting up.

Above all else, please remember that I am here to answer any questions you may have and help you feel as comfortable as possible every step of the way. Your children will sense your emotions and my goal is for them to become confident and enthusiastic. This is also my goal for you as an ISR parent! Please know that I empathize deeply with your experience as an ISR parent and understand that the early days of lessons can be tough as you and your child get to know and trust me. Parenting is hard and I know that ISR Lessons can be a tough part of that parenting experience as both you and your child are embarking on a new unknown adventure in the water. With a little confidence in your child and in me as the instructor, I know you will be amazed at what we will accomplish!

Lastly, please take some time to look over the full Lesson Guidelines document. This will be included as a contract for you to sign when signing up for lessons. Read over these guidelines to make sure you know exactly what will be required of you and your child during lessons.

General

• I hear you say your priority is survival skills. Will my child learn to actually swim?

  Yes.  At ISR Self-Rescue®, we believe that part of survival for a child who can walk is swimming.  Children learn the swim-float-swim sequence so that they could get themselves to safety.  The difference in our program is that they will learn swimming AND survival skills and how to be an aquatic problem solver.

• What is the retention rate with ISR lessons?

  ISR Self-Rescue® claims a retention rate of 94-100% for up to one year following lessons.  Having said this, children will explore and may pick up bad habits watching other children or with interference like floating in a bathtub or playing on the steps.  As your child goes through lessons, you will begin to understand, through communication with your Instructor, what activities may interfere with his/her learned ISR Self-Rescue® Skills.  Contacting and/or returning to your instructor in a timely manner is imperative to maintaining effective habits.

• Why do you have children swim in clothes?

  Because most children who fall in the water do so fully clothed, we want our students to have experience with such a situation. If a child has experienced the sensations of being in the water in clothing prior to an emergency situation, he/she is less likely to experience panic and be able to focus on the task at hand.  If you have ever jumped in the water with clothes on, then you know that there is a significant difference in weight and feel with clothes as opposed to a bathing suit.

Lesson Scheduling

• Why are lessons 5 days per week and for only 10 minutes?

  The reason for this is multifaceted.  First, repetition and consistency are crucial elements of learning for young children. Research shows that short, more frequent lessons result in higher retention.  Second, most children have fairly short attention spans and will not be able to focus on the task for longer and we want to take advantage of the best time for learning.  A third reason is that, though the pool temperature is maintained at 78-88 degrees, the pool temperature is still lower than your child's body temperature.  Lessons are work and therefore the child will also be losing body heat.  Instructors check students regularly for temperature fatigue since this is an indicator of physical fatigue.

• Why does it take 6-8 weeks for my child to learn this?

  The 4-6 weeks is an estimate that is based on the average time in which it takes most children to learn these survival skills. Every child is unique and ISR’s Self-Rescue® program is specifically designed based on your child’s individual strengths and needs.  Generally, infants under 12 months learning to rollback and float need about 4-5 weeks, whereas children 12 to 24 months need about 6-8 weeks to master the swim-float-swim sequence.  Children 2-1/2 to age 6 generally need about 6 weeks to master the swim-float-swim sequence.  It is important to realize that this is an average, which means that some children will actually finish more quickly while others will need more practice.  ISR Self-Rescue® is dedicated to safety and, therefore, we want to provide your child with the time and best opportunity to become proficient in his/her survival skills. We will always honor your child’s needs.

• Do you have children that aren’t able learn the skills?

  No.  Every child can learn.  It is my job to find the best way to communicate the information so that it makes sense to the child. I set your child up to be successful every time, always starting where they are.

Benefits

• Why should parents enroll their children in ISR lessons?

  ISR Self-Rescue® parents enroll their children because they understand their children's abilities and want to give them every opportunity to learn.  They also feel it is important to teach their children how to help themselves should they find themselves alone in the water.  Research shows that there are better times to learn certain things and swimming is best learned early in life.

• What other benefits do the ISR lesson experience provide students?

  Every child is unique.  However, many parents report that once their young children have mastered learning to swim, the resulting confidence in their abilities creates a positive self-concept that is often demonstrated in other aspects of their personalities.  There are also obvious health and other psychological gains.

Health and Safety

• Are ISR Self-Rescue® swimming lessons safe for infants and young children?

  YES!  ISR is dedicated to safety and maintaining numerous safety protocols to promote safe lessons.  Your child's health and well-being are our highest priority and 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 Self-Rescue® Instructors undergo an intensive and rigorous training that far exceeds any other training program of this kind. Each ISR Instructor is also required to attend a yearly re-certification that includes quality control as well as continuing education. Your education in the area of aquatic safety for your entire family is an integral part of your child's lessons. You will receive access to the "Parent Resource Guide" that is written by Dr. Harvey Barnett and JoAnn Barnett, which will inform you of every aspect of swimming for infants and children.  With research, you will find that ISR is the safest survival swimming program but also the most effective for teaching infants and young children.

• What is the AAP’s position on swimming lessons for young children?

  In May of 2010, the AAP changed its policy regarding the age at which children may start swimming lessons; based on research stating that swim lessons may actually provide reduction in drowning risk of children ages 1- to 4-years-old.  That study, “Association Between Swimming Lessons and Childhood Drowning” published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, March, 2009, by Brenner et. al. was the first study to probe the relationship between drowning reduction and swimming skills.  The study concluded that, “Participation in formal swimming lessons was associated with an 88% reduction in the risk of drowning in the 1- to 4-year-old children...”The AAP encourages parents to consider that starting water-survival skills training at an early age must be individualized, based on the child's frequency of exposure to water, emotional maturity, physical limitations and health concerns related to swimming pools.

• Will my child fear the water because of lessons?

  There is an important difference between being fearful, and being apprehensive because you are not yet skilled in a new environment.  ISR is a drowning prevention program that teaches survival swimming. Sometimes as a parent, you make choices for your child’s safety, like sitting in a car seat, because you know they are important. The same can be said for ISR. Once competent in their skills, many children cannot be dragged away from the pool.  They are having entirely too much FUN.

• Why do the babies cry?

  Babies don’t yet have the verbal skills to express themselves, and crying is a completely normal reaction for a young child who is in a new and challenging situation.  However, as the child’s skills increase in the pool, the fussing will decrease. You can read more about this in the “Lesson Procedures, Guidelines and What To Expect” section above.