About Isr

Founded by Harvey Barnett, Ph.D., in 1966, ISR endeavored to put an end to a preventable tragedy: childhood drowning. Barnett witnessed the aftermath of this tragedy after a neighbor’s 9-month-old son reached the water alone. From that point on, Barnett vowed to do everything possible to ensure that Not One More Child Drowns. 

Infant Swimming Resource (ISR), with it's Self-Rescue™ program, is nationally recognized as the safest provider of survival swimming lessons for infants and young children. With over 45 years of research and development, highly trained certified Instructors committed to safety, and a proven history of success, parents can rest assured that their children are receiving the best possible instruction in the world today. 


ISR believes pool fences, supervision, and pool alarms are important parts of a necessary multi-layered approach to drowning prevention. However, traditional lines of defense break down, and the over 4,000 drowning deaths per year bear a grim testament to the fact that traditional approaches are missing a key component: the child. Children are curious, capable, and have an uncanny ability to overcome obstacles like pool fences; at ISR we take that ability and teach them skills to potentially save themselves if they find themselves in the water alone.

What makes ISR different?

Infant Swimming Resource offers the safest survival swimming instruction method available. Lessons are taught in a customized, one-on-one lesson environment, and foster the development of swimming and safety in infants and young children with ISR’s proprietary Self-Rescue™ program. With over 45 years of research and development, highly trained certified Instructors committed to safety, and a proven history of success, parents can rest assured that their children are receiving the best possible instruction in the world today. An important distinction between ISR and other programs is our emphasis on safety before, during and after lessons. 

Prior to beginning lessons, your child’s unique medical history is reviewed by a team of medical professionals to identify any potential health issues that may affect your child’s lessons and safety.
During lessons: ISR’s protocols have allowed for more than 7 million lessons to be safely delivered by individually certified instructors.
Parent education: Your child is not the only one learning during lessons. ISR’s program includes comprehensive parent education on aquatic safety and drowning prevention. The goal is to teach YOU as we teach them, for best swimming practices no matter where you are.

qualified instructors

Your child will learn survival swimming skills from a well-trained and highly qualified Instructor using principles that have been researched, proven, and tested for more than 45 years. Each certified ISR instructor, completes a rigorous, 8-week in-water and academic training course and participates in a highly specialized annual recertification to maintain the highest level of safety and caliber of instruction. At ISR, your child’s safety is our first priority. Each survival swimming lesson is uniquely tailored to your child’s needs based on a comprehensive assessments and continual monitoring of your child’s health and skill attainment. We understand that every child learns at his or her own pace, and accordingly, your child will be gently guided through each skill level based on his or her level of development and readiness.

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