Program teaches children self-rescue techniques

written by JENNIFER A. FITCH

The headlines are jarring and heartbreaking: “No charges in toddler’s drowning.” “Police: Foul play not suspected in child’s apparent drowning.” “Country singer’s son’s drowning ruled accidental.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 3,000 people fatally drown each year, with one in five of them being children ages 14 and younger.

Sara Garcia of Frederick, Md., is an instructor with Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue, a program to help children survive what could otherwise be accidental drowning.

When Garcia’s family was installing a backyard pool, she was concerned about the safety of her young son, even though he was participating in traditional swimming lessons. She found herself thinking that the lessons weren’t teaching him to respect the water.

Garcia took her son, then almost 2 years old, to an Infant Self-Rescue instructor in Carroll County, Md.

“It was so amazing, and I was hooked,” she said. “I told my husband, ‘Frederick needs a program like this.’” Nora Krop, now interviews. She traveled to Herndon, Va., 5, learns to float for what she described as grueling instrucon her back, while instructed by Sara Garcia. tion in 2017. “There is so much you have to learn Submitted photo about human anatomy, breath control and how quickly drowning happens,” she said.

Started 55 years ago, Infant Self-Rescue is structured for sensory motor learning. It targets ages 6 months to 6 years and teaches children skills they can use if they find themselves in the water alone.

A typical session with Garcia is one-on-one instruction, Monday through Friday, for four to six weeks. Each day consists of just a 10-minute lesson to not tire the child. They focus on one skill for two or three days before progressing.

Garcia aims to develop muscle memory in each child.

While children depart the session with skills, they are encouraged to undergo a refresher lesson every six to eight months.

Practicing self-rescue

Garcia acknowledged that the first few days of instruction can seem concerning to parents, particularly parents of the youngest children. The youngest children tend to cry, which is a response that is actually considered desirable. It means they are breathing and alive, plus they should be

56

making noise in an emergency to draw the attention of an adult.

Older children sometimes fight the process.

“I’m OK being the bad guy if something good is going to come out of it,” Garcia said.

Stephanie Krop of Frederick acknowledged it was difficult to watch her two older children go through the unpleasant experience for the first few days of lessons. However, she does not want them to ever be comfortable with their faces in the water in an unplanned situation.

“I learned they need to experience that unpleasantness to recognize when it happens,” she said.

Krop plans to enroll her youngest child in Infant Self-Rescue this year to learn the same skills as her older siblings. Krop especially appreciated watching the children practice self-rescue in various types of clothing under the assumption they might be clothed for various seasons if they end up in a dangerous situation.

“It brought so much comfort to me to see that,” she said.

Learning to float

Learning to float and defaulting to floating on your back is a primary concept of Infant Self-Rescue. Children also develop breath control for when their mouths are in contact with the water.

Older children with more upper-body strength are taught to pull themselves out of a body of water.

In 2020, Garcia taught a family with three children. The youngest suffered a near-drowning incident previously at the bottom of a pool. All the family members were leery of the water, but they developed joy as the days went by.

“The progress he made was amazing,” Garcia said.

Pricing for Infant Self-Rescue begins with a $105 registration fee paid to the organization.

Garcia’s fee is $150 a week.

‘Worth every penny’

“It’s worth every penny. It’s worth every inconvenience of taking them 10 minutes a day for five days a week,” said Kaylin Staley of Williamsport.

The Staley family had daughters Ella, now 4, and Zoey, now 2, complete the training with Garcia and undergo periodic refreshers. Kaylin Staley started researching swimming safety as the family prepared to move to a house with a backyard pool.

Earlier in her adulthood, Staley jumped into a pool during a cookout to rescue a small child who was quietly submerged.

“I once heard that drowning happens to other people until you become ‘other people,’” she said. “That really resonated with me.”

Garcia has concerns about swim aids often called puddle jumpers. She fears they train a child to be in the water held in a vertical position, when the water would creep up on their mouth and nose without the aid.

Similarly, Staley said her oldest daughter took traditional swimming lessons with a flotation device on her back. It held her in more of a face-down position than what her mother now considers advisable.

Staley sometimes gets pushback when she refers others to Infant Self-Rescue because some claim the methods are harsh.

“What is ‘child abuse’ and ‘traumatizing’ is not giving them these skills,” she said.

Staley and Krop said their children gained confidence and excitement for time in the water.

“I tell people about two things – Jesus and these swimming lessons,” Krop said.

For more information, go to Garcia’s website, www.isrfrederick.com.

Remington Krop, now 2, practices self-rescue techniques last year in Frederick, Md., with instructor Sara Garcia. SUBMITTED PHOTO