iSwim4Life

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As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, we are feeling thankful for our team of instructors who found a way to reach their communities despite the challenges ...that arose in this very strange year. We are also thankful to our swim parents who packed swim bags, logged miles in the car,and clapped from the sidelines to help support their children through their lesson experience. Most of all, we are thankful for the sweet little people who inspire us to learn, teach, and advocate so that we can fulfill our ultimate mission #notonemorechilddrowns Happy Thanksgiving to all

Update on the #raceforlilygrace We have people participating in #raceforlilygrace from New York to California! As far away as Miami, Minneapolis and Seattle! People are running for Lily across the US in 22 different states! We mailed race packets to 121 different cities!!! This is amazing! Thank you for supporting and praying for Lily!

Will ISR teach my child to swim or just self rescue? This is a question we receive often!! Here’s a 2.5 year old ISR student who has learned to self rescue AND swim because she can’t get herself to the steps/edge of the pool without knowing how to swim. She’s even working on her stroke and dive technique!!!... When a child turns 1 and is developmentally ready ISR students are then introduced to the swim-float-swim sequence. Their float helps them to rest/catch a breath in order to make it from point A to B. This method could be used to swim to mom after coming down the slide but is also used when a child finds themselves in the middle of a pool all alone and needs to find their way out. Email [email protected] to see about enrolling your child in ISR at iSwim4Life #iSwim4Life #infantswim #ISR #sanmarcostx

Safety is always Coach Spaar’s #1 priority for all her students!! Safety during lessons as well as providing each student with the skills they need to save themselves should they reach the water alone. Being ISR certified provides for the resources, training and knowledge an instructor needs to accommodate all students during lessons because all kids are at risk for drowning and should be skilled!

The Race for Lily Grace is finished! Our God is SO good! We are still trying to take it all in. We are beyond blessed! When we set the initial goal of $50,000, ...we had little expectation that we would actually reach that goal. $50,000 is a lot of money. Well, as of today, we have raised $121,761.97!!! All of this money will go to help Lily! We have already begun to start planning the next steps. Stay tuned for updates (there are a couple things already in the works). For us, a successful race would be a couple hundred participants...we had over 850 people #raceforlilygrace Y’all are amazing, thank you so much! The Lord has been so good to us. He has used all of you to help in His healing of Lily. The Lord can heal her completely! The money raised will go toward treatments, therapies, equipment and supplements all of which the Lord can use to restore Lily’s brain. Our hope is in Him! Thank you for being a part of this story...of this miracle!

One week left to sign up for #raceforlilygrace Registration ends on September 22. - You can sign up for the Race for Lily Grace at https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/Dallas/RunforLily... Lily’s go fund me gofundme.com/f/52hrjh-lily039s-medical-expenses See more

A PSA on Crying in ISR Lessons Crying is by far, the number one concern I hear from parents before and during ISR Lessons. Think about when your child takes a... minor tumble on the grass: If you gasp, run to him, pick him up, coddle him, say "It's Ok" 84 times, what do you think his reaction will be? He will cry, carry on, and think "that hurt so bad!" It may even begin to hurt! Then, most likely, you'll continue to comfort him, and he will continue to carry on. But.... If you glance over to see if he's truly ok (he's fine), continue to go about your business, and play with him as you were before - chances are (depending on your previous history of reactions), he'll continue to play as he was. As parents, we can subconsciously manipulate our child's behavioral patterns, as can our children do the same for ours. What we say, do, and how we react to our child's emotions will dictate how our child reacts to situations. Do we coddle our children when we put them in their carseat - tell them "it's ok" 84 times until they stop crying (but really, cry more)? Do we rub our child's back and say "I know, I know" before we put sunscreen on, because we know "they hate that"? No! - Well....at least I hope not. If you do - stop now! So when your child cries while he's walking to the pool, and you hold him close, rub his back, and tell him it's ok, (84 times) or "it's going to be ok, you love swimming," think about the message you are sending him. He's not clinging to you because he's truly fearful of getting in the water. He's clinging to you because he's getting a reaction from you, and it feels good to have your back rubbed! ISR lessons are work - maybe if he cries, he won't have to work, and you'll keep rubbing his back (he will have to work anyway, but he'll KEEP TRYING to get you to rub his back) So, how do we change a behavior? By changing.... or removing the response to that behavior. Make swimming lessons just as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning, just as normal as grabbing your child's hand before you cross the street; just as normal as eating breakfast in the morning, reading a book before bed. We don't talk about these things all day, or reassure our children how much they "love these things". We do it, regardless of their reaction, and then we do it again tomorrow. So when I lay your child on his towel after lessons, tell him he did a great job, but don't tell him "next time, no crying." Dry him off, pick him up, get him dressed, get a sticker, and strap him in the carseat. And do it all again tomorrow.

Skip The Gift Saga this year... share your gift link with friends & family

We have opened spring 2021 session dates and their filling up FAST! Don’t wait till summer to get your refreshers in, get them in early so your swimming by spring break!! We have ISR AM lesson spots available in the January & February session and have PM time slots available in the April session. ... For our older students we have group lesson openings in the November, January & February sessions. Registration link: https://www.webaccomplice.org//public/signup_choices.cgi/ Email [email protected] if you have questions

Checkout the September newsletter! Back to School, Back to the Pool!! Group Lesson sign up is available for the November 2nd & January 4th sessions. 2021 Session sign up also now available. Get your refreshers in early so your swimming by spring break!! Remember we fill up quickly in the spring & summer!

Did you know iSwim4Life is open year-around and is an indoor pool facility?!?!? Lessons are offered all 4 seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall.... because drowning has no season #drowninghasnoseason

Who can relate?!?!

We have opened spring 2021 session dates and their filling up FAST! Don’t wait till summer to get your refreshers in, get them in early so your swimming by spring break!! We have ISR AM lesson spots available in the January & February session and have PM time slots available in the April session. ... For our older students we have group lesson openings in the November, January & February sessions. Registration link: https://www.webaccomplice.org//public/signup_choices.cgi/ Email [email protected] if you have questions

Did you know iSwim4Life is open year-around and is an indoor pool facility?!?!? Lessons are offered all 4 seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall.... because drowning has no season #drowninghasnoseason

Reminding you that the safest flotation device for your child is teaching them how to float and save themselves. https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com//puddle

We're registered... are you?!?!? It's not too late to sign up!! This is a great way to support a family in need, there's many ways you can support this wonderful family -sign up for the race (fun for the whole family!!!) -donate directly to the family (gofundme.com/f/52hrjh-lily039s-medical-expenses)... -pray for Lily Grace and her family https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/Dallas/RunforLily

A PSA on Crying in ISR Lessons Crying is by far, the number one concern I hear from parents before and during ISR Lessons. Think about when your child takes a... minor tumble on the grass: If you gasp, run to him, pick him up, coddle him, say "It's Ok" 84 times, what do you think his reaction will be? He will cry, carry on, and think "that hurt so bad!" It may even begin to hurt! Then, most likely, you'll continue to comfort him, and he will continue to carry on. But.... If you glance over to see if he's truly ok (he's fine), continue to go about your business, and play with him as you were before - chances are (depending on your previous history of reactions), he'll continue to play as he was. As parents, we can subconsciously manipulate our child's behavioral patterns, as can our children do the same for ours. What we say, do, and how we react to our child's emotions will dictate how our child reacts to situations. Do we coddle our children when we put them in their carseat - tell them "it's ok" 84 times until they stop crying (but really, cry more)? Do we rub our child's back and say "I know, I know" before we put sunscreen on, because we know "they hate that"? No! - Well....at least I hope not. If you do - stop now! So when your child cries while he's walking to the pool, and you hold him close, rub his back, and tell him it's ok, (84 times) or "it's going to be ok, you love swimming," think about the message you are sending him. He's not clinging to you because he's truly fearful of getting in the water. He's clinging to you because he's getting a reaction from you, and it feels good to have your back rubbed! ISR lessons are work - maybe if he cries, he won't have to work, and you'll keep rubbing his back (he will have to work anyway, but he'll KEEP TRYING to get you to rub his back) So, how do we change a behavior? By changing.... or removing the response to that behavior. Make swimming lessons just as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning, just as normal as grabbing your child's hand before you cross the street; just as normal as eating breakfast in the morning, reading a book before bed. We don't talk about these things all day, or reassure our children how much they "love these things". We do it, regardless of their reaction, and then we do it again tomorrow. So when I lay your child on his towel after lessons, tell him he did a great job, but don't tell him "next time, no crying." Dry him off, pick him up, get him dressed, get a sticker, and strap him in the carseat. And do it all again tomorrow.

If it were as simple as just watch your kids, there would be far fewer drownings happening. Obviously it isn’t that simple. There are many varying factors th...at cause kids to drown and drownings are still happening every day. Every well meaning parent has lapses in supervision. Every parent finds marker all over the wall or all over their child, food spread deep into the carpet, toilet paper everywhere but in the toilet, or your child decides to use poo as a medium for painting. Every parent has had something similar happen. If you say you haven’t, it’s either because you don’t want to admit it or because you are a brand new parent and your child isn’t old enough to be mobile yet. We joke about these moments; Maybe even post something funny on Facebook about them. The difference is that when these same lapses happen around water it is deadly. All it takes is 30 seconds for a child to drown....and parents aren’t super human. Lapses can and do happen, even around water. That doesn’t mean parents are neglectful. It means they are human. It means they had a lapse. It doesn’t mean they walked away from their child while at the water. I had my son within arm’s reach, right next to me. He still managed to slip away and get back into the water without me seeing it happen. I didn’t leave him. He slipped away. He was gone for a minute before I realized he wasn’t next to me anymore. And he drowned and died. Keeping them safer is about supervision, but it’s much more than just supervision. That’s a key layer of protection, but it isn’t the only one. Where I failed my son is by using a puddle jumper during swim time, instead of teaching him survival swim and letting him experience his own body in the water, without a flotation aid. I gave him a false sense of security by using that device with him every time we went to water. He thought he could swim when he really couldn’t and he went to the water without his device to try. I failed him by teaching him confidence in the water before competence in it, by putting him in traditional lessons where they taught him that water is fun and happy and safe, instead of survival swim lessons, where they would have taught him that water is to be respected and that his body needs to do certain things to stay safe in it. And so he went to the water without me and had no worries about getting in it. He had no respect for what his body could or could not do in the water because I never gave him the opportunity to understand that by experiencing it. So many parents (like me) think puddle jumpers and traditional lessons are protecting their kids. Our job is to educate parents on what truly protects our children, so that they can change their mindset. Good parents will do that once they have that knowledge. I would have, if I had known this before Judah’s accident. It is only when all parents are educated that we can begin to move the needle with this. But there are SO MANY kids and families out there to reach, and not enough of us out there speaking about it. That’s why we are always asking you to be a voice. We need more people who are educated about this to educate others, for a shift to happen in these numbers. Parents can’t do what they don’t know. We want to make sure all parents have the opportunity to know these things. Right now most of them don’t. If they did, the drowning statistics would change, because most parents will do what is safe for their kids once they themselves know what is safe. If you want to see the statistics change, be brave and teach this: Layers of Protection: -Supervision-water time is not relaxation time for parents. This is work time. This is on the clock time. If you want to relax around the water, don’t bring your kids to it. Lifeguards aren’t able to watch your child for you and they aren’t a substitute for you. They have an entire pool of people to be monitoring at one time. They need YOU to watch your child. Get in the pool with your kids. Be within arm’s reach of any non-swimmers at all times in or around water. Designate a water watcher and switch every 15 minutes for fresh, non fatigued eyes and brain. -Pool fences around all pools and bodies of water. Ugly fences save beautiful lives. Period. -Lock all windows, doors, dog doors, and gates that lead out to any body of water. Get alarms on them. You can get cheap magnetic ones that do the job at any hardware store or at Walmart, Target, and many other grocery stores. -Pool Alarms-so that you know if anyone is getting into the water. -Survival Swim lessons-skill your kids before you teach them confidence in the water. These lessons teach young children how to survive a water emergency (like falling into the water on their own) and children as young as 6-7 months old can learn these skills. ISR does this. Infant Aquatics does this. Find an instructor by going to their websites. Or contact us and we will help you find one. We offer scholarships if you can’t afford it. So do many other orgs. If a child can crawl, they can drown and when they are crawling, they are too young to learn or use traditional lessons to save themselves. They won’t use those effectively until around the age of 6, because those require more upper body strength and coordination skills than young children typically have. -Learn CPR! It saves lives!! Now you are educated on the layers of protection that truly keep children safer around the water. Now we ask you to pay it forward and educate the people you know. These stats won’t change until we all use our voices and reach parents everywhere. Join us! BE A VOICE!!! ~Christi #beavoice #teachmetofloat #teachthemtofloat #dontletthemdrown #kids #children #parents #safety #swimming #floating #nofloaties #survivalswim #drowningprevention #safetyfirst

The short answer to this- probably! Their instructor is new, the pool facility is new, and they are learning to do something new...put those elements together and you have a recipe for possible Children like routine & familiarity, so we are not surprised when they fuss in the initial days or weeks of lessons. Thankfully, we find that this behavior typically tapers off as they begin to build trust & a rapport with their instructor and as they feel more confident in their sk...ills While it's tempting to hold out for a magical "no cry" method to swimming or to wait until your child is older with the hope that they will cry less, keep in mind that they are the most vulnerable to drowning between the ages of 1-4. Our swim parents will tell you that any tears are a worthy trade-off for the priceless self-rescue skills they will learn! Visit www.infantswim.com to find an instructor near you

Do you know the differences between Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and traditional swim lessons? #infantswim #drowningprevention #selfrescue #notonemorechilddrowns #infantswimmingresource #isr

Update on the #raceforlilygrace We have people participating in #raceforlilygrace from New York to California! As far away as Miami, Minneapolis and Seattle! People are running for Lily across the US in 22 different states! We mailed race packets to 121 different cities!!! This is amazing! Thank you for supporting and praying for Lily!

Today we celebrate 5 years of iSwim4Life!! We celebrate 5 years of Coach Spaar's dream coming to fruition. The first of its kind in Hays County, a personally owned, year round indoor swim school facility. After 10 months of building renovations, hard work, sweat and probably a few tears (maybe ALOT of tears), Coach Spaar officially opened the iSwim4Life Facility 5 years ago today! 5 years of students learning to find their float... 5 years of students conquering fears 5 years of students celebrating personal successes 5 years of students growing & developing their passion for the water & swimming... which we all know is due to Coach Spaar's superpower of creating swimmers out of every student she teaches!!! iSwim4Life has been successful & continued to grow year after year thanks to the continued support of all our iSwim4Life families, Thank you!!!! Coach Spaar would also like to thank ALL the people that helped her make this happen! "First off my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My dad for giving me the final confirmation I needed to go for it. My friends and supporters, without them this never would've happened. June, Linda, Jill, Taylor and the ADT community, Kevin, Kevin, Kevin!!!! Steven, Bill, Lyanna, Auguste, Marshal, Chuck, The Collies, The Workmans, The Hagertys, Russell and my dog Roxy! I could have never pulled it off without her constant companionship."

FAQ: What will my child (6-12mo) learn through ISR lessons? Children acquire the ability to have the problem-solving skills of Self-Rescue and at that age will learn to roll back and float, rest and stay independently. #iswim4life #isr #infantswimmingresource #drowninghasnoseason

Great Job Gentry!

Do you know the differences between Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and traditional swim lessons? #infantswim #drowningprevention #selfrescue #notonemorechilddrowns #infantswimmingresource #isr

Just a reminder - iSwim4Life will be closed next week, 11/23-11/27 Happy Thanksgiving

Does your child’s swim program take your child’s unique medical history into account when planning and executing a lesson plan? Shouldn’t they? What if your child has a peanut allergy? Shouldn’t your child’s instructor be aware so that they can take the proper precautions? Asthma? Shouldn’t this be a factor when planning lesson pace? ISR is the standard for safety in infant and child swim lessons.