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Have you ever heard of Infant Self Rescue (ISR)? If you haven't, you should familiarize yourself with it in the form of a Google Video search, because, guys? It's terrifying. But also, it can save your baby's life.
In (hyperbolic) layman's terms, ISR is the act of tossing your barely-out-of-the womb child into a body of water and letting them fend for themselves. Scary? Um, that'd be correct. But, fascinatingly, your baby is born with the ability to both swim and hold her breath under water. (But, please, don't go tossing your babies into the pool!) Due to the fact that about two children under 14 die every day in the U.S. from drowning, the purpose of ISR is to teach children as young as 6 months to float, get comfortable in the water in the case that they accidentally fall in, and hone their innate skills of holding their breath. Some claim that ISR can help babies save themselves from drowning.
Of course, any parent would want their baby to be armed with the knowledge of how to save themselves from drowning, but, please, please let's hope that this doesn't give any moms or dads out there a false sense of security. Just because your tiny baby knows how to swim doesn't mean they should be around a pool or bath alone! Infant Self Rescue ultimately sounds like a smart thing for parents to do (if they can handle it, emotionally), but in no universe should small children ever be left alone by water -- ever. We should think of this as an added bonus, not a reason to kick back at the beach and relax.
More from The Stir: 2-Year-Old Girl Swims Like an Olympian Already (VIDEO)
That said, it truly is pretty unbelievable seeing babies so small swim around in the pool as if they've been doing it forever (which, in a sense, they have). This video might make you squirm in your seat a little bit, as the swim instructor seems to be wildly cavalier with the 8-month-old who's in the pool, but this little cutie sure knows what she's doing.
Check it out. And would you ever do this to your kid? Or will you stick to simply being on them like a hawk whenever they're around water?
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Image via © Romona Robbins Photography/Corbis
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