LUBBOCK, Texas — Infant Swimming Resource in Lubbock is helping reduce the number of accidental drownings in young kids and it starts before they can even walk.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention drowning is the leading cause of death in the United States for children ages one through four.
Lubbock Certified Infant Resource Master Instructor is doing her part to make sure children have the self-rescue tools they need if ever in the water alone.
“They are going to learn how to float, they are going to learn how to flip over and go swim, and either find something and if they can’t get there in a quick period of time they are going to roll back over to their back and float again,” Proctor said.
Proctor takes pride in teaching children 6 month to 6 years-old in ten-minute session to build their water confidence and self-saving skills.
She has been an instructor for ten years and says the most rewarding part is seeing family generations.
Grace Munson used to nanny kids that came to Proctor, and now that she has a son of her own, he has been a part of the program for four weeks.
“The idea potentially that he is going to be by water, that he will be able to turnover and float on his back and be able to cry and say hey I am in the water. That just gives me all the comfort,” Munson said.
The program is typically six weeks and Munson said she has peace of mind going into the summer because her son will be prepared.
When it comes to preparing your child for water safety, Proctor says any lesson is better than no lesson at all.
“Make sure that your instructor is a certified infant swimming resource instructor. You can find that at infantswim.com and you can pull up the instructor locator to find the closest certified instructor near you,” Proctor said.
Along with teaching local kids, she also equips other instructors worldwide with the tools they need to continue the lessons in their own communities.
