By Jane Lebak

Kristin Bates of Dolphin Tail Infant Aquatics guarantees that with six weeks of survival swim lessons, a child will learn the skills to save themselves from drowning.

These are not traditional lessons, which often take years to show results. Instead, “survival swim” lessons are intense but brief one-on-one sessions to train a child—from infancy to age six—to float and breathe for an indefinite period of time until help comes.

According to the CDC, “drowning is the number one cause of death for children 1-4 years old in the United States,” approximately 450 infants and toddlers per year. However, the Children’s Safety Network has determined that formal swim lessons reduce the risk of infant and toddler drownings by 88%.

“Too many parents don’t understand how quickly tragedy can happen,” says Bates. “They may trust in floaties or puddle jumpers, but children take them off. They can slip under the surface while their parents are taking care of another child. Drowning is a tragedy we can prevent.”

Survival swim lessons take place four days a week for six weeks. Each lesson is one-to-one, and it’s ten minutes long. This focused, high-intensity structure quickly hones a baby’s muscle memory.

“By the end of the first day, we’re going underwater, and they’re holding their breath,” says Bates. “Every lesson builds on what they learned the day before. We chain the skills together until they’ve learned to listen to their body so they can get to their float position to breathe.”

At the end of the six weeks, the baby takes a “clothing” test, simulating a water accident while fully clothed—even in a snowsuit. If they don’t pass, lessons continue until they can. Bates says, “In effect, survival skills are guaranteed.”

Years ago, a near-drowning accident in a private pool got Bates thinking about survival swim for her own children. “The closest instructor was two hours away,” she says. While the accident she witnessed had a good outcome (the child was fine,) she couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. “To prevent other tragedies, I trained with Infant Aquatics.” Infant Aquatics has taught survival swim for five decades.

Bates is also CPR certified.

Lessons are not age-based, but skill-based. “I’ll start when a baby is able to sit unassisted for a minute and can roll from belly to back consistently.” This is younger than traditional infant swim classes. “At that age, they’re considered ‘floaters.’ The goal is, if they ever fall into a pool, they know how to flip over and get to their back, then stay that way until rescue.”

Goals are different for children who can walk. Bates says, “For walkers, we develop a swim-float-swim sequence. They identify a target—whether someone’s hand or the side of the pool—and make their way to safety.”

Children can take lessons with Dolphin Tail up to age six.

Once the child masters the basics, Bates creates controlled accident scenarios. She says, “If a baby falls in a pool, they’re alone. We re-create a scenario where they’re on the side and fall in, or a scenario where they’re already in the water and flip upside-down.”

Infants and toddlers who tumble into a pool become disoriented. Bates says, “I help them figure out where is the air and how to get to it. They start in a wrong position, and I train them to correct it. That’s why one-to-one instruction is imperative.”

The effect can be lifesaving. Bates says, “Once they know how to get to their back and float, they know how to handle anything.”

A healthy respect for water, and how to work with it, is at the backbone of survival swim. “No child is drown-proof,” says Bates. “You can’t trust puddle jumpers to keep your child safe. There are so many variables with water, but we can teach them the skills to save themselves.”

Learn more about survival swim at https://infantaquatics.com. To sign up your child for survival swim lessons, contact Bates at [email protected], or call (774) 277-1222. Lessons are held in Milford.

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