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Show 6A Lakeside Review, Wednesday, Nov. 18 1981 Mothers Ignore Cries; Teach Babies to Swim At Bountiful Center JARED HOLMES, 1 , is teacher Irmgaard Fisher. dropped from diving board by his mother Susan (left), then turned in the water by i Mothers BOUNTIFUL who normally protect their children from any form of danger drop infants from diving boards into water eight feet deep. Sometimes the tiny children scream, but no one is in a hurry to pull them out. , This scenario sounds like a modem horror story, but is actually part of a program designed, not to harm the babies, but to possibly save their lives. Mrs. Irmgaard Fisher, who has taught the swimming program for babies at Bountiful Recreation Center for four years, said when she first started it was hard listening to the babies cry and seeing the mothers reaction. But now it is very challenging and I enjoy seeing their accomplishments. In the class, there are usually 12 children ranging in age from 6 months to 3 years old and 12 mothers. When the tots start out in the class, they are often very apprehensive so the first step ' '' , KICKING and paddling, Jared Holmes stays afloat during swimming class. 4 . is to get them used to having their faces under water. After they realize they can go be- neath the surface and return safely, they are taken out to deeper water for a process called waterproofing. fear the water, she said. Mrs. Fisher also teaches basic strokes and paddles. The children soon learn to . Mrs. Fisher has been babies at waterproofing the Bountiful center for about a year. The new method involves teaching the child, through positive reinforcement, to automatically turn on his back when he is dropped into deep water in order to get his face up and get air. Mrs. Fisher also instructs the mother on how to teach her own child. She. must ignore the cries of the child in order to teach him to use the technique on his own, without assistance, in the same way he would have to react if he fell into deep water and no one was nearby to save him. At the end of each class session, Mrs. Fisher lets the children play with toys to help them relax and enjoy the water. When they realize they are in control, they no longer . swim from one side of the pool to the other and to climb out by themselves. - Jan Henderson and her son Brady have taken the Mom and Tot class for five sessions. When Brady first started, Mrs. Henderson said he was petrified and cried continuously. It took three sessions before he relaxed and started to enjoy the water, she said. Now Brady can swim across the pool on his back and jump off the diving board. Mrs. Henderson said she highly re-- t commends the class and Mrs. Fishers instruction. The classes are taught Monday through Thursday and are divided into two sec- tions. A beginner class is taught from 11 a.m. to noon and a minnow class is j scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. The classes are held two times each week for five weeks. |