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Chicken Cheeks by TV star Michael Ian Black of “The State” and “Stella” has a new children’s book out available on Amazon.com. In a nutshell it lists names for animals’ bottoms via a bear and his friends that will make you and your kids giggle. The simple text is easy for readers of any age and may even inspire you to come up with a list of your own! You can see Michael Ian Black back with fellow State-ian Michael Showalter on “Michael and Michael Have Issues” Wednesdays 10:30 PM EST on Comedy Central. |
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Worst Nightmare A one year old baby falls and lands one and a half feet deep head first into the pool and it appears to be raining. In any other situation this might send you diving into the pool fully clothed with shoes and cell phone to save her, but the toddler is my own 14 month old Baby Mae and within 3 seconds she rights herself and remains in a floating position on her back to catch her breath and rests for one full minute until the instructor picks her up and praises her for saving herself. Amazing Mae We are in ISR Instructor Rebecca Pletcher’s pool in Satellite Beach. There is a potential mom observing that day with a boy about the same age as Mae. Potential mom is holding her breath while Mae is practicing her moves, then whispers “that brought tears to my eyes” when Mae is finally picked up again by Rebecca. It is amazing; Mae is almost finished with her Infant Swimming Resource course and is wowing everyone who sees her strut her stuff in the water. This is Mae’s third showcase and final week of lessons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mnYzjVlu2I Stats There are many causes of death among children; car accident, illness, drugs. Then there’s the one that is seemingly most preventable, drowning. In 2005, of all children 1 to 4 years old who died almost 30% died from drowning. Fatal drowning remains the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years. Additionally, more than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger. Drowning is the leading cause of death in 18 of the United States. Florida, California and Texas lead the country in the statistics. For every child who dies from drowning, another four receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. Nonfatal drowning can cause brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities including memory problems, learning disabilities and permanent loss of basic functioning (i.e., permanent vegetative state.) It’s a Commitment An 18 year old man named Harvey Barnett from Satellite Beach had a life altering situation that moved him enough to try and change those stats. He came home one day about 44 years ago to find out his 8 month old neighbor’s child had died as a result of drowning in a drainage ditch. It had such an impact on him he devoted his life to preventing child drowning. After developing his technique while earning a Ph.D. at the University of Florida in educational psychology, he developed the Infant Swimming Resource in 1969 and has been teaching children ages 6 months to 6 years of all developmental abilities to survive in the water should an accidental falling happen. Since then the program has taught more than 150,000 children to become aquatically skilled. The lessons are basically training sessions developed into a sequence for your child on how to survive in the water. The premise is simple, as soon as they start crawling or can mobilize themselves to water, teach them how to survive. The lessons are ten minutes a day, every week day for an average of six weeks. In addition there are daily BUDS sheets you need to hand in every lesson (which was not my strongest area.) Be aware, in the beginning there is a learning curve that takes about 2 weeks as they learn to get comfortable. They will cry, get upset, scream even but it is temporary and part of the learning process. In dealing with children most of us know that manipulation begins at birth; they will do anything to stay in their comfort zone. But you are just making water their comfort zone through ten minute a day lessons. It may feel like they are being traumatized at first, but you are actually doing the opposite: keeping them from future trauma. Trust in the process may be easier if you observe lessons, or a graduation before signing them up for the program. The program has gotten critical acclaim for teaching children to survive, most recently the program was highlighted on the Today show in March of 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mnYzjVlu2I Practice Makes permanent The sequences taught are branded in the child’s brain so they won’t forget. The learning process is similar to learning to ride a bike. Both are sensori-motor skills which means once it’s learned it’s not forgotten. Children over a year learn a sequence of swim, rollback to float and rest, then swim again to the side of the pool. Children under one year learn rollback to float then breathe and rest until they are picked up. The average child will learn their sequence in 6 weeks and it is suggested that you revisit the skills every time in the water before unstructured swim, kind of like stretching before you run. Flex the skill that was taught in class so they don’t forget it easily and they will use it in that unstructured time. Graduation occurs when they complete the sequence appropriate to their age level while wearing summer clothes including shoes one day, winter clothes and can pull a shirt off their face while floating on the second day. A parent must get in the pool on the third day to be taught the sequence and how to maintain success. Rebecca was very accommodating with pay and lesson schedules. Her goal is to just get one more child able to protect herself, and it’s worth everything you need to go through. Prices, instructors in your area and other information including links for the scholarship program are available through the website www.infantswim.com. The program also promotes the following safety precautions in addition to graduation of their program: · No diving boards around the pool EVER · Keep jets aimed towards shallow end and steps · Keep water at uppermost limit · Always keep a phone by the pool when it is in use · Paint a bright “do not cross” line 2-3 feet from edge of docks or seawalls · Keep the temp below 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Jacuzzis · In the ocean keep kids in knee deep water or tie a balloon around wrist as a locator Happy Ending Teaching them to fight against the odds is allowing them a chance to survive. If you live in Florida chances are you have a pool, canal, boat, dock, beach, lake or river within your reach. Allow the children in your world the self defense technique to save their own life. We know exercise can help beat heart attacks or other health related issues. This is an exercise that can save them and allow them to have a great time in any body of water. Bottom line: don’t take your eyes off them while in the water. To be honest I can’t help but look as my kids amaze me and whoever sees them as they safely swim like fish in any body of water.
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