EYE ON THE FUTURE
by Daniel J. Lynch, M.S.
Advances in Drowning Prevention for Children
T
oday, just in the United States,
approximately 100 infants and
young children will fall into the
water, most in their own backyard
pool. Of those, 11 will be pronounced
dead right away, 66 will be rushed to
the emergency department, and 33
will be admitted to the hospital.
Unfortunately, some will die later of
near-drowning complications; some
will live with various levels of
neurologic complications, and their
lives will be filled with medical
uncertainties. Many of these tragedies
happen for reasons that are clearly
controllable. For instance, parents
don’t always keep a constant eye on
their children around pools. They
might have a pool fence that they think
their child cannot climb, but often the
child is successful at exploring the
pool. Often, parents think that they
always close the sliding door, activate
the alarms, remove the patio furniture
and toys from the pool deck, and close
and lock the backyard or pool fence
gates, and they are always sure that if
they leave the baby unattended around
the pool area, it is ‘‘only for a second.’’
Unfortunately, it only takes a second
for tragedy to strike.
The solution to this huge problem
is education. We must recognize the
problem, study it, and then educate
everyone who has a viable contribution
to ensure that this epidemic is brought
under control. Who are those people?
They consist of the pediatrician and
the parent, as well as the person closest
to the problem, the baby.
Pediatricians have received little or
no effective training in water accident
prevention. Their own literature
VOL. 8, NO. 3
indicates this and that the solution to
the problem is in the realm of experts
in the behavioral sciences.
Parents think that supervision and a
few safety devices around their pool,
along with their intention of always
being there for their baby, is a solution
that is reinforced in every day that
their baby does not drown.
Today, many young children
participate in some form of formal
swimming lessons. They take lessons
of various descriptions in municipal
and public pools, apartment
complexes, YMCA facilities, home
owner association private pools,
backyard pools, and in, increasing
numbers, at health clubs.
The Internet is full of information
about infant swimming lessons, and
there are a few organizations listed that
claim to be ‘‘the standard of excellence’’
and are advancing the ideals of safe
Photo courtesy of Harvey Barnett, Ph.D.
MAY/JUNE 2004
and effective swimming instruction for
infant and young children. Just as in
the early days of the personal training
industry, there are associations that
claim to certify instructors with no real
standards to measure success. However,
there are organizations that have very
rigid standards that train and certify
instructors, continue with the
education of their instructors, serve
to advance the industry of infant
aquatics.
The purpose of this article is to
educate you about a number of lesson
formats and to help you understand
the intent for each lesson along with
some pros and cons for each approach.
There are roughly six categories of
infant aquatics recognized today in the
United States. Some are benign, some
are effective, and some are dangerous.
In addition, there is a tremendous
range of expertise and abilities among
the different approaches and their
instructors. You need to study the
literature, observe and interview the
program, and be diligent about the
personnel who are offering these
programs in this tremendously
expanding industry.
The programs are as follows:
1. structured play
2. water adjustment classes
3. swimming readiness
4. swimming
5. aquatic survival
6. modified adult stroke and
teaching techniques
Structured Play
In structured play classes, games are
used to introduce the underwater
1
ACSM’S HEALTH & FITNESS JOURNAL 21

and in-water experiences that might
be needed for later skill.
Pros: The child becomes very
comfortable in the water.
Cons: The child has no skills but an
affinity for and ‘‘loves’’ the water;
possibility of overconfidence.
Water Adjustment
In water adjustment classes, a leader
directs activities with groups of
parents and babies in the water to
promote parent-baby bonding and
trust in the water.
Pros: The child is happy in the
water and learns that swimming and
being in the water is a social situation.
Cons: The child has no skills in
the water and associates the love,
nurturance, affection, and attention of
the parent with the water, with the
possibility of the child seeking the
water looking for the parent.
Swimming Readiness
Swimming readiness classes use
significant flotation devices to allow
active exploration of the water and
movements in the water.
Pros: The child is happy and enjoys
the water as long as the floatation
devices are worn. The sense of
independence in the water is large.
Cons: The reliance on artificial
flotation devices has initial learning
issues, and the postures that are used in
the water are opposite from what is
required in free swimming.
Swimming
Swimming classes for younger
children rely upon the use of
floatation devices that are not
garments, such as kickboards or
‘‘noodles,’’ to promote the
dog-paddle stroke (or ‘‘head up
swimming’’).
22 ACSM’S HEALTH & FITNESS JOURNALA
EYE ON THE FUTURE
Pros: Physical strength and
stamina are increased because moving
through the water with these
postures demands it. Swimming face
down with a breath hold becomes
easier than ‘‘swimming’’ with devices.
Cons: The reliance upon and
motor memory created by the use of
these devices and the transition to
a dog-paddle stroke is difficult to
overcome. Once learned in this
manner, an aquatic panic will usually
bring the inefficient stroke back
(particularly in clothes). The problem
usually will not be solved.
Aquatic Survival
In aquatic survival classes, a highly
educated instructor uses behavioral
technology to shape age-related
efficient locomotion through the
water and self-rescue methods.
Pros: When the infant can crawl,
operant conditioning can be used to
teach basic aquatic survival skills.
When the baby can walk, swimming
behaviors can be shaped and practiced.
There is a 95% retention rate after
1 year of no lessons.
Cons: It is expensive and time
intensive (6 weeks for 30 lessons and
approximately $400). However, some
parents have a difficult time initially
seeing their baby working in an
independent learning situation.
Modified Adult Stroke and
Teaching Techniques
Some classes use modified adult
stroke and teaching techniques to
repeatedly test and select those
infants and young children who
through precocious motor skills
are able to move themselves through
the water.
Pros: A few strong and highly
coordinated older infants will pick up
MAY/JUNE 2004
some skill through repetition of
underwater trials rather than through
instruction. The sense of
accomplishment is significant because
these students figure out how to solve
some of the problems themselves.
Cons: Most of this defines aquatic
trauma. Some infants are very
frightened of the water after the trials
even if they get some skills. Almost
none of the students learn a back float
to rest and breathe posture because
they are so tense and stressed in the
water. Some infants and parents
cannot tolerate the trial and error
procedures. Programs that throw
babies into the water can and have
injured students.
Some of the leading work in this
country is being performed by Harvey
Barnett, Ph.D., founder of Infant
Swimming Resource LLC. Dr. Barnett
is willing to give anyone who
contacts him free advice to assist in
this worthy cause. He can be contacted
at www.infantswim.com.
Dr. Barnett has spent 37 years of
research and development in this area
of drowning prevention. I want to
thank him for his contribution to this
article. Additional information on his
background can be found at
www.infantswim.com/founder.htm.
Daniel J. Lynch,
M.S., has been in the
health and fitness
business for 31 years
and is currently
president of Matrix
Fitness Centers. He
can be reached at Dan_Lynch@
MatrixFitnessCenters.com. Mr. Lynch
is an associate editor of ACSM’s Health
& Fitness Journal 1.
VOL. 8, NO. 3