05/25/2022
QUESTION: Where can someone learn true survival swim for babies at an affordable rate?
I was an American Red Cross lifeguard for 26 years. Lifeguard Instructor. Water Safety Instructor- I took my training from ARC, YMCA, and Elmer’s and developed my own curriculum. I teach kids to float independently starting at about 2 or 3 years old. They can fully swim by about 5. Then I work on stroke technique. No one is ever allowed to hold their breath but rather to breath in above water and out below water (bubbles.)
Standard swim lessons are awful. It’s playtime and exploring . It makes people think their kid is accomplishing something when they are not, not really. I HATED teaching for organizations that taught those lessons. “Entering the water independently” is not an actual skill. They can fall in and smile and it’s a check. So long as they don’t freak out, it’s good. The last program I taught at wouldn’t ACTUALLY teach anyone a basic stroke until they were 8 years old. It was ridiculous. I had to quit. I could not teach that. It was crap.
But I have never figured out how to teach babies the roll and float “survival swim”. I have gotten a few babies to do it, but not consistently enough to claim how. Older kids and adults? Oh yes. My specialty was adults who never learned and were deeply terrified. I gave them the skills they needed to save themselves, to be safe. But babies under 2? Total mystery.
But I just had a baby. She is 3 months old. I looked into Infant Survival Swim. I have seen it work. I know it is a trusted system. But it is $1500!!! I have dedicated more than half my life to drowning prevention. But I cannot afford that. FOR MY OWN DAUGHTER I CANT AFFORD A DROWNING PREVENTION PROGRAM I KNOW WORKS.
No matter how much I know it works, how important that is. We just don’t have it. I charged $90 for 5 30-minute private lessons at their home pool, and most of my clients were upper middle class to be able to afford me at that rate. I was not cheap by most people’s standards, but I had to make a living. I gave away free lessons and volunteered for a lot of programs. I taught in apartment complexes I lived in at no charge. I knew kids were at risk and I didn’t want cost to prevent safety. I DRILLED water safety to all my clients. All the things- eyes on the water, no cell phones, no going inside/to the car, etc. I taught the entire family about pool rules, 911, reach or throw to rescue someone without getting in. I taught CPR and choking. It was all hands on with dummies. I ran drills and scenarios. I told parents and my students very frankly where their kids were. “They can’t swim alone, they are not capable. No child is drown proof. Your fearless child terrifies me because they do not respect the water.” MISS LAURA NEVER SWIMS ALONE. Lifeguard certified merwranglers accompany every mermaid to every event. I lived and breathed water safety, not just while teaching but as a mermaid, and as a stunt woman who worked in water. But I know more could be done for my students. I just didn’t have the tools.
I want, NEED, those tools now. And so do MILLIONS of families. Basic survival should not be cost prohibitive. Someone somewhere has got to have an affordable program. A method. A YouTube video that requires getting in the pool and practicing. SOMETHING has to be out there that I can use and send to my clients. Trust me- I would GIVE away swim lessons for free to everyone if I could. But it requires a knowledgeable instructor in the water day after day to get results. I need that instructor to show me so I can pass it on to others. This info should NOT be a trade secret.
Thoughts? Advice?
My kid is worth so much more than $1500. But she needs a place to live and health insurance to pay for her surgeries. Etc etc. We are barely surviving life. I can’t afford to prevent drowning. ME. There has to be a solution.
