Show Businessindustry e Theaters Classified ads Logan Utah Sunday June 1 1980 The Herald Journal -1- 9 'Never consider a child water safe or drown proofed All children should be carefully supervised when in or around water no matter how much swimming training they have had' Three-year-ol- Dalyce Callahan clings toPauline Shaw during a pause in her lesson d ' ii t j It's important to teach a child to relax in the water so that if an emergency situation arises he Won't panic or freeze' - 4 c the edge of a canal irrigation ditch or a swimming pool suddenly slips and falls in Frequently this is the scenario for a tragic story which appears in the newspaper the next day and leaves an indelible void in what had been a happy family If Pauline Shaw has her way such accidents will not happen or at least will occur less frequently Pauline teaches infants from six months of age up to swim Using a method recently developed in Ohio and Florida called Infant Swimming Research she teaches infants not only the basic technique of iwimming but also the skills to handle themselves in water until they can get out or someone can pull them out She is one of 80 certified infant swimming instructors in the nation The technique is based on operant A toddler playing along -- j ' ' v conditioning and positive behavior reinforcement which more simply stated boili down to praise encouragement touching and lots of hugging Babies cannot be taught Pauline Said until they lose the “swimming reflex" This occurs at about six months of age With this reflex an infant brings both his arms and legs up to his abdomen at the same time and cannot move anywhere in the water Since small babies don’t have strong enough neck muscles to lift their heads out of water a system had to be developed which would allow them to breath in water Dr Harvey Barnett of Cleveland State University in Ohio developed a “flip-flop- " technique which allows the baby to roll over and breath The method has the advantage that when the Infant is older it is much easier to teach him the proper breathing technique because he already knows the proper head rolL Teaching infants takes time “I feel super strongly"7 Pauline said “that you never expect more from a child than he can give It is especially important that you allow a child - timeto adapt” story MARTHA DIXON photography SCOTT RUTHERFORD of tjie Herald Journal ' On this particular day a little girl about two came for her first lesion As she cautiously approached the edge of the pool and sat down Pauline began to speak to her slowly and softly Then she began gently to make waves in the water which rolled over the child's legs Since the water was about 80 degrees the sensation must have been pleasant “It's important to teach a child to relax in the water so that if an emergency situation arises he won't panic or freeze" she said Slowly she coaxed the little girl into her arms cuddled her and gradually lowered her into the water In about a foot of water at the shallow end of the pool were some brightly colored rings Gradually she coaxed the little girl to reach down and pick up the rings Each time the child picked up a ring Pauline said “Good girl!" On this first day she didn’t put her head under water but a few days later she did with her eyes open and her mouth dosed Now she was ready for the next step Pauline wears a scuba flipper on one foot and one of the first steps is to get the baby to look at the flipper with his face in the water All the while Pauline is touching the child and after a few seconds she picks the child up and cuddles it When the infant has learned to look at the flipper Pauline starts to teach it how to move arms and legs all the while reinforcing the movement with touching and praise so that the child knows that what he has done is correct She touches the infant on the limb which is working as reinforcement When the movement is incorrect she picks the baby up and starts over again When the child has mastered these techniques he is next taught to roll over While on his back the child breathes and rests then turns back on his tummy to swim Emphasis is placed on getting the child to lie still in the water The next move is to teach the child to use these motions (swim rollover breath rest) to get to the side of the pool and to pull himself up on the steps or side of the pool It's to see a little boy swim to the side of the pool and with arms fully extended pull himself out of the pod This aspect is important because in this manner a child who can barely walk can still save himself if he tumbles in Once the infant has mastered these techniques Pauline has the child come into the pool fully clothed first wearing ' Practicing recovery from a fall into the water awe-inspiri- Coming up for air Continued on page 25 wrnjm mt s W( eudL wUii A |