Swim lessons highlighted as drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- In a ten-year study by the Centers for Disease Control, researchers found drowning was the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4. One Colorado Springs swimming instructor is trying to improve that statistic.

Emily Schroeder is the only certified infant swimming resource instructor in Colorado Springs. She's been teaching for four years and has taught more than 400 students.

The goal of Infant Self-Rescue training is for a young baby or child to be able to independently float and get air while in the water until someone can rescue them. Babies as young as six months old can sign up for the swimming lessons.

"As long as they can sit independently for a minute and roll over on land then they can learn to roll and float in the water," Emily said.

Not only do the children learn to swim and float in their swimwear, Emily has the children do the drills in both winter and summer clothes to feel the resistance in the water.

"When you add a diaper in, those things can get like 2-5 pounds, and when you put that on an eight-month-old with some clothes, that can like double their body weight," Emily said.

Emily said drowning can happen to anyone, anywhere. It doesn't have to be on a day you ever intended to go swimming.

"There's a misconception about drowning that children make a big scene and there's a lot of splashing. It's not like that," Emily noted. Children can drown in as little as 30 seconds.

In order for the children to "pass" the course, they must be able to independently float on their backs and get air for a minimum of two minutes.

If you'd like to book lessons with Emily or learn more about Infant Self-Rescue training, you can reach her at e.schroeder@infantswim.com.

*Note: Infant Self-Rescue is just one method of teaching your child to swim. You can learn more about the ISR approach here.