BOISE -- It's nearly summer, and that means taking a dip to cool off for many us. Sadly though, it's also the season when we tend to hear about child drownings. A program called Infant Self Rescue teaches babies and toddlers what to do so they can actually save themselves if they end up in the water alone.
We went to the Idaho Athletic Club in Eagle to watch ISR Instructor Ann Moore teach four toddlers and one infant the skills that could one day save their lives.
"This is my mission," said Moore. "Not to let another child drown."
As 3-year-old Gwen was in the pool with Moore, we chatted with her father about why he signed her up.
"It could be at a birthday party at a pool, a lot of different scenarios. It was just an important thing for our family," said Jim Bradbury.
We also watched toddlers Emmett, Grace, Zade and Heidi in action.
"She jumps in from the steps into the water and she swims all the way across the pool, and she knows if she needs to take a breath to roll over and breath," explained Kaitlin Clark, who is the mother of 2-year-old Heidi.
The drowning prevention class is for kids between 6 months old and 6 years old. While we were at the pool we watched 11-month-old Charlotte floating on her own in her purple swimsuit.
"It is really reassuring," said Megan Deboi, Charlotte's mother.
At first, Deboi said Charlotte refused because coach Ann Moore was a stranger and she was having to learn skills in a big pool. But after a while, she says the tears went away.
"Once they become comfortable with each piece of the sequence, then the crying becomes less and less because they're confident in their skill and they know to roll, and lay on their back to breathe," said Moore.
Charlotte even smiles now as her mom cheers her on. In fact, all of the kids we saw in lessons seemed to be having a good time. They are all probably unaware that what they're learning could someday save their lives.
"When they do get into a situation where they slip or something else happens near the water they're not panicking," said Bradbury. "They're holding their breath, keeping their head up, floating on their back, and swimming over to the wall. They have a skill base they're drawing upon."
Moore says a child learning what to do in the water, though, is just the third step in drowning prevention. The first is watching them like a hawk. The second step is having proper locks, alarms and gates in place. Several of the parents we spoke with live near or on the water.
"So we were kinda concerned about what if something happened," said Deboi. "How do we teach her to be confident in the water?"
After about six weeks of lessons, one-on-one, five days a week, that confidence is there for the little ones and their parents.
"I don't have to worry that their head could be under water and they're breathing in water because they're panicking," said Bradbury. "They know what to do and it's honestly probably one of the best parenting decisions we've ever made."
To learn more about Infant Self Rescue click here.
