Building Lifesaving Skills Takes Time

Infant survival swimming is a journey, not a quick fix. While one 9-week session is a great start, true progress comes from consistent, ongoing practice. Our program is designed to build trust, strengthen skills, and adapt to your child’s natural development over time.

​​

It’s completely normal for little ones to experience leaps and regressions as they grow—this is part of their learning process! Instead of seeing these as setbacks, think of them as stepping stones toward confidence and mastery in the water.

 

For the best results, we encourage families to commit to at least a year in the program. This long-term approach ensures your child develops the skills they need to swim safely and independently.

​

We’re here to support you and your child every step of the way! 💙🌊

​

Phases

Our general phases follow your child's developmental milestones.

 

Phase 1: Building Comfort & Awareness (2-6 Months)

At this stage, the focus is on trust and comfort in the water. Babies will:
✔ Get familiar with their instructor 
✔ Develop neck control and recognize objects around them
✔ Become comfortable with water on their face and hold their breath
✔ Learn to submerge without fear or resistance
✔ Float on their back with gentle support, even if their arms and legs are moving
✔ Begin stretching and reaching in the water, mimicking early swimming motions

​

Phase 2: Early Independence & Exploration (6-12 Months)

As confidence grows, babies start to explore movement and self-reliance:
✔ Hold onto the pool edge (6-9 months) and start attempting to climb out (10-12 months)
✔ Discover the joy of splashing!
✔ Learn to float on their back unassisted
✔ Comfortably roll from front to back and back to front with gentle guidance
✔ Submerge and reach for their instructor

​

Phase 3: Breath Control & Basic Survival Skills (12-18 Months)

This phase introduces more intentional movement and breath control:
✔ Submerge underwater and hold their breath naturally
✔ Learn to recover from a fall in chest-deep water, rolling onto their back for air
✔ Gain control of the ability to roll from front to back and take a breath

​​

Phase 4: Survival Swimming & Water Independence (18-24 Months)

In this final stage, toddlers refine their skills and build true self-rescue ability:
✔ Roll from front to back for a breath, then back onto their front to continue swimming
✔ Jump into the water and ascent to surface
✔ Recover from "falling" into the pool, rolling onto their back to breathe
✔ Handle underwater disorientation, instinctively rolling onto their back for air

​

We would love to start with infants/toddlers of any age between 2 months and 2 years. The phases are just a guideline for what you can expect from the beginning and are based on general stages of development. The earlier you start, the better the chances of getting through any regressions or leaps.

​​

What happens after Infant Survival?

If your child is successful in the infant survival program and ages out, their instructor may recommend that they move into our Guppy program! This program is designed to help children 2-5 years of age develop swimming skills, in addition to survival skills.

​

FAQ

1. Is this program ISR?
   No, our Infant Survival program is not ISR. The Infant Survival Resource is an American, membership-based program that is taught by ISR providers. The ISR program is an intense, daily, 6 week program that starts at 6 months of age. Marlin Swim Academy's program starts earlier with a gentle approach and love for swimming.

2. What is the difference between Marlin's Infant Survival and ISR?
   Marlin's Infant Survival is a less-rigid, gentle program that focuses on the skills a child can acquire based on their growth and development. Our trauma-informed instructors have a deep knowledge and understanding of what it takes to gently guide infants and toddlers so that trust is at the forefront of the program. Our schedule is less intense and we use toys/equipment to help guide the program as well. Finally, parents are not excluded from our program. If your child needs you, we welcome you to join the program to help build those initial phases of trust!

3. How long will it take for my baby to swim?
   At 2 years of age, most children are not coordinated enough to accomplish "swimming" for any more than a metre or two. The purpose of this program is to give an adult a few extra seconds to grab their infant, should they fall into water unexpectedly. What they will be working on is ascending to the surface after a jump and make it a very short distance back to the wall. They will also work on getting themselves back to the stairs and into a standing position, after they jump/fall/step into an area too deep for them to touch. Success for each child looks different and each child's timeline looks different as well.

​

Let's Get Started!

To register, please create or log into your account.​