The ISR difference

“In six short weeks, my three-year-old went from hating water on his face to jumping in a pool and rescuing himself. He can float, he can turn to swim, and then turn to float again and again until he makes it safely to the side of the pool and gets himself out.

He is skinny, he is small. It seemed highly unlikely when he first began, but I’m so thankful I trusted the process and that I took the time to help him develop this life skill. Thank YOU to Kourtney’s Kause; what an inspiring program!”

- ROSANNE D. | mother to 3-year-old ISR student

ISR Lesson Types

All prices listed are for the skill being taught, not the amount of time your child needs. Learn more about our lesson structure here.

First-Time ISR Self-Rescue Lessons.

These lessons cater to children as young as six months and extend to those aged six years and beyond. If a child has never participated in ISR or has limited swimming ability, they should be enrolled as a first-time student.

Refresher Lessons

Designed to “refresh” previously learned ISR skills to adjust for time, interference, and body growth. These lessons follow the daily schedule for one to three weeks depending on the child.

  • Transition Lessons:

For students who initially learned the rollback to float, transition lessons follow the same daily lesson format to teach these children the full swim-float-swim sequence. Click here to sign up.

  • Maintenance Lessons:

For fully skilled students wanting to maintain their skills through the swim season, these can be held once to three times a week. To purchase maintenance lessons, click here.

Kourtney’s Kause Propellers

For children who have already completed ISR and mastered the swim, float, swim sequence, this program serves as the next step for them to learn traditional side breathing and refine their strokes.

What will my child learn?

All ISR lessons are personalized, one-on-one 10-minute sessions held five days a week, from Monday through Friday, spanning approximately 6-8 weeks.

  • Younger children will be taught to rollback to float, learning from various presentations how to surface the water, rotate onto their back, and float independently.

  • Older children will learn the swim-float-swim sequence, moving at a developmentally appropriate level through the water, rotating onto their back to breathe and float, and then flipping over to swim again. 

  • All ages complete at least two guided lessons in clothes with their instructor to ensure they know how to respond if they were ever to fall in the pool while clothed.*

*We will work with your child until they are independently swimming and floating and can navigate clothes lessons safely. For most children, this happens within 6 weeks.

Swim Lesson Pricing

New ISR student sessions pricing varies by location and can be paid in two payments. The first payment of 50% is due when you schedule. This initial payment will secure your time slot. In the event of cancellation, this fee is non-refundable. The remaining balance is due by the end of week 2.

  • We offer a sibling or military/first responder discount of 10%. This credit will be applied to your second payment.

  • Ditch your floaties during week 1 of lessons and receive $25 off your second payment!

Please Note: Each student is required to register with ISR corporate annually. This registration is completely separate from Kourtney’s Kause. ISR performs a medical evaluation of each child to ensure their safety in the program.  If they deem the child not physically ready to be in lessons, the registration fee and any lesson will be refunded. Otherwise, this fee is non-refundable.

  • New Student Registration: $105 one-time fee per child

  • Returning Student Annual Registration Update: $40 per student.

Swim lesson acessibility

We believe that every child should have access to quality swim lessons. We are working to make that possible by providing swim scholarships; having multiple instructors; constantly expanding our team; and offering swim lessons at various times and locations to accommodate different schedules and living situations.

General ISR FAQs

  • 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 daily. 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 instructors undergo 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 symposium 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”, 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.

  • In March 2019, the AAP updated its drowning prevention policy and laid out strategies to protect children at each stage of their life. According to the AAP, “Evidence reveals that many children older than 1 year will benefit from swim lessons. Swim lessons are increasingly available for a wide range of children, including those with various health conditions and disabilities such as ASD. A parent or caregiver’s decision about when to initiate swim lessons must be individualized based on a variety of factors, including comfort with being in the water, health status, emotional maturity, and physical and cognitive limitations. Although swim lessons provide 1 layer of protection from drowning, swim lessons do not “drown proof” a child, and parents must continue to provide barriers to prevent unintended access when not in the water and closely supervise children when in and around water.

    Further the AAP states, “There is tremendous variability among swim lessons, and not every program will be right for each child. Parents and caregivers should investigate options for swim lessons in their community before enrollment to make sure that the program meets their needs and the needs of the child. High-quality swim lessons provide more experiential training, including swimming in clothes, in life jackets, falling in, and practicing self-rescue.”

    Source: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/143/5/e20190850

  • ISR parents are intelligent and 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.

  • Absolutely! At ISR, 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.

  • Yes, refresher lessons are important because children change so much both cognitively and physically during the first 4-5 years of life. Their water survival skills must grow with their bodies.

    Frequency depends on the child’s age, growth rate, skill level, and confidence level. The goal of refresher lessons is to help your child adjust their new body size and weight to their existing skill level. Your Instructor will work with your child to help fine-tune their aquatic experience to assist with building efficiency, which will result in self-confidence. This is especially important if your child has not been able to practice any appropriate aquatic skills between seasons.

Learning Objectives & Lesson Scheduling

  • 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 temperature is still lower than your child’s body temperature. Lessons are work and therefore will also be losing body heat. Instructors check students regularly for temperature fatigue since this is an indicator of physical fatigue.

  • The 4-8 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 strengths and needs. It is important to realize that this is an average which means that some children will finish more quickly while others will need more practice. ISR is dedicated to safety and, therefore, we want to provide your child with the time and best opportunity to become proficient in their survival skills. We will always honor your child’s needs.

    Further the AAP states, “There is tremendous variability among swim lessons, and not every program will be right for each child. Parents and caregivers should investigate options for swim lessons in their community before enrollment to make sure that the program meets their needs and the needs of the child. High-quality swim lessons provide more experiential training, including swimming in clothes, in life jackets, falling in, and practicing self-rescue.

  • Like any physical skill, children don’t “forget” the skills, but will need to adjust their skills to account for their physical growth. In addition, 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 their learned ISR Self-Rescue skills. Contacting and/or returning to your Instructor promptly is imperative to maintaining effective habits.

  • Because 86% of 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, they are 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.

  • No. Every child can learn. It is our job to find the best way to communicate the information so that it makes sense to the child. We set your child up to be successful every time. We start at your child’s skill level and set them up for success in every lesson.

Methodology

  • ISR instructors teach infants to swim by honoring each child’s strengths and experiences. They understand the fundamentals of the behavioral sciences, child development, and sensory-motor learning. Verbal skills are not required for a child to acquire ISR Self-Rescue skills. We are able to communicate with students for success every step of the way.

  • Breath holding skills are taught in the first lesson. We shape breath control using highly effective positive reinforcement techniques and continue to reinforce these techniques throughout every lesson.

  • A baby does not need to perceive danger or be afraid to respond appropriately to being underwater. If a baby has learned to roll over and float when they need air, they do not need to perceive danger to respond in this manner. They need skill, practice, and confidence to calmly deal with the situation.

  • No, babies cannot swim naturally. If this were the case, there wouldn’t be so many drownings every year. According to the CDC and Accident Prevention, drowining iw the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4.

Crying

  • Children often fuss during the first few lessons because they are in a new environment and around new people. As your child becomes more confident in his/her ability in the water, the fussing will decrease.

    It is not unlike the first time you tried a new exercise class, or were asked to perform a task at work that you’d never done before: the first time you try a new task it is always challenging until you get the hang of it. It is the same for your young child. Your child is learning to perform a skill that he/she’s never done before.

  • There is an important difference between being fearful, and being apprehensive because you are not yet skilled in a new environment. ISR is not like traditional swim lessons; it is a drowning prevention program that teaches survival swimming. As a parent, you make choices for your child’s safety, like sitting in a car seat, because you know it is important for their safety. 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!

  • Babies don’t 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.

Health & Water Safety

  • Constant, undivided, 100% effective supervision would be the only sure way to eliminate drowning. Unfortunately, as parents, we know this is simply not realistic. Infants and toddlers love to explore, and with everything else that goes on in our lives, parents can get distracted. A moment’s inattention can allow a child to move out of our line of sight. This is not failure, it is just part of our busy lives.

    This brings us to the next layer of protection, pool fences. Pool fences exist so that should a child escape a parent’s supervision, there is a barrier between the child and the pool. We know that children are drawn to water, but we don’t want them to be able to get to the water alone. Unfortunately, pool fences are only effective if they are used correctly EVERY time. Because many are not set up to be self-closing and self-latching, they allow for a high likelihood of human error. Even if they are self-closing and self-latching, if there is not regular maintenance, they can fail. Another aspect that is often highly underestimated is the intelligence of the children. A child needs only a chair or a small table to climb on to emulate opening the gate and/or climbing over pool fencing rendering even the best pool fence, useless.

    The fact that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of five is a grim testament to the fact that traditional approaches can, and do, fail. ISR’s Self-Rescue program exists so that, when other protective measures break down, your child can save himself.

  • Flotation devices give children a false sense of security and hold them in postures that are not compatible with swimming skills. If a child learns that he can jump in the water and go into a vertical posture and he will be able to breathe, he is getting the wrong idea about that environment. Flotation devices are for children who cannot swim. Children, who cannot swim, should not be allowed to learn that it is safe to play in the water while relying on a crutch. Life jackets must be worn in a boat or around water when there is the potential for a submersion as a result of an accident i.e. a boat collision or capsize; they are not a substitute for the ability to swim or for adult supervision.

    Further the AAP states, “There is tremendous variability among swim lessons, and not every program will be right for each child. Parents and caregivers should investigate options for swim lessons in their community before enrollment to make sure that the program meets their needs and the needs of the child. High-quality swim lessons provide more experiential training, including swimming in clothes, in life jackets, falling in, and practicing self-rescue.

  • ‘Dry Drowning’ is not actually a real medical term. If the child were to get water in their mouth and swallow some, the epiglottis, a flap of cartilage which lies behind the tongue in front of the entrance to the larynx, closes by a reflexive action over the tube leading to the lungs and prevents aspiration just as it does if they were drinking water from a cup or a bottle. The typical child’s anatomy is set up so that if the volume and/or speed of air/water entering the throat is more dense than air, then the epiglottis, by default, will send it to the stomach and not to the lungs. The exception to this rule is if a person is unconscious at which point the involuntary reflex of breathing will take over. Every child is regularly monitored throughout lessons to ensure that they are not taking in water.

  • The lessons are only 10 minutes long each day. The children work hard at learning to swim so we teach them to lie down on their towel and rest for a few minutes after each lesson.

  • Our goal is that no child ever vomits. However, it does occasionally happen. Most often this is due to feeding issues. We ask parents to avoid feeding children for 1.5-2 hours prior to lessons because having food in the stomach while learning breath holding can cause discomfort. When a child is first learning to hold their breath, they will often swallow some air which can cause big burps. If a burp gets under food remaining in the tummy, it can cause vomiting. For this reason, we ask parents to maintain B.U.D.S. sheets accurately and follow the eating guidelines outlined for your children.

  • In addition to educating infants and young children, ISR also teaches parents that there is “no substitute for adult supervision” and “No child is drown-proof.” If a child needs their ISR Self-Rescue skills, it means what should be several layers of defense have failed. The first goal is that the child is never able to access the water alone. ISR lessons are the last line of protection such that, should all other layers of protection fail, your child has a chance at helping themselves by using the survival skills they were taught.