WATER BABIES MAKE A BIG SPLASH

When Brock Uelsmann, then barely 1, started taking swimming lessons, his mother, Tonya, spent an afternoon with him at the baby pool at Capaha Park.

"It was really a mess," Tonya says now. He wanted to be like the older children and play like the 5-year-olds.

While that experience didn't work out the way she planned, Tonya says Brock has benefited from Cape Girardeau's infant aquatic program.

Brock, now 2, has learned to hold his breath, blow bubbles, kick, and kick and use his arms to dog paddle.

The infant and preschool classes are the foundation for the city's water safety program, says Doug Gannon, the city's recreation coordinator for aquatics.

The object of the classes, he says, is to introduce infants to the water with their parents in a non-threatening way.

Water babies instructor at the Jackson pool, Nathan Huck, says the goal is to acclimate the babies to the water environment without fear.

Both cities base their programs on the American Red Cross Infant and Preschool Aquatic Program.

A Red Cross booklet says the purpose of the program is to teach water safety to children 6 months to 5 years old.

It is intended to give children a comfort level around the water and to prepare them to learn to swim.

Tonya, who works at Famous Barr and attends Southeast Missouri State University, read about the water babies program in a parks and recreation tabloid published in the newspaper.

Brock has attended four sessions of the classes, twice this summer.

Tonya, who learned to swim at Capaha Pool as a preschooler, swam on the swim team at Jackson.

Tonya, who loves the water, says her father always had a pool and was into swimming.

Her half sister and half brothers started swimming when they were young and were on the swim team at Dexter.

Stacy Busch, who trains the water safety instructors for the Red Cross, began her swimming lessons at Capaha Pool at age 5. She now heads the city's water safety program and is the on-site supervisor at Capaha Pool.

Cape Girardeau's Learn-to-Swim program begins with the infant program, children 6 months to age 3 and the preschool program for children ages 3 to 5, where children become acclimated to the water. The main Learn-to-Swim program for children, ages 5 to 13, teaches the main swimming strokes.

The city runs three Learn-to-Swim classes a night for three, three-week sessions during the summer. There also are three Learn-to-Swim classes in the mornings at the Central High School Pool.

The water babies classes are restricted to 10 infants and their parents and last 30 minutes; preschool classes are limited to 15 children and last 45 minutes.

Busch says the good thing about the program is that it is consistent at each level, with the previous level "bridging" to the next level.

Participation has increased in both the Jackson and Cape Girardeau swim programs.

Tonya has noticed the increase in class sizes during the two years Brock's been in the program.

Gannon, in his sixth year with the city, says the infant classes have been full the past three summers.

He credits the "excellent" instructors for the increase in participation.

About 800 children participated in the city's summer Learn-to-Swim program.

There were about 350 children in the morning program at the Central this summer.

Usually there are between 150 and 200 children in the night sessions, he said. Last session there were 189 children.

Brett Blackman, assistant manager for programs director at Jackson, says there were 940 children in the basic levels of swimming classes this summer.

In the fourth summer session, there was an increase from 130 children to 150 children.

There are 20 more children, 6 months to 3 years old, in the program this year than last year, he says, with 140 children taking the infant classes.

Blackman, who has been with the swimming program for six years, says the city has begun to reap the benefits of the infant classes, as children who started as infants are taking the toddler and Learn-to-Swim classes now.

Huck, Jackson pool assistant manager, and Michael Schemel teach four water baby classes in the morning. Classes are limited to 12 children and their parents and run 45 minutes. There are four, two-week sessions.

Huck, who began swimming at age 4, says he communicates with the infants through imitation.

"As they go through the lessons, they start to splash and to smile," says Huck who is in his fourth year of teaching the class.

During the lessons, parents learn several ways to hold their children in the water.

One of the more involved holds is the cheek-to-cheek hold in which the child lies on his back.

The children hate that hold, Huck says, because they are on their backs and can't see their parents.

Once the children master that hold, they reach a peak and the fear seems to be go away, he adds.

The infant classes at Cape Girardeau are divided into 15-minute segments. The first 15 minutes are for the lessons in the big pool; the last 15 minutes are in the baby pool for free play.

Tonya likes the structured program. Brock gets the benefit of playing in the water with everything organized.

When the teachers say it's time to go home, Tonya says, Brock knows the class is over.

It gives him a sense of scheduling and routine, she says. He knew that Mondays through Thursdays he would go to the pool.

He knew when to go to the baby pool and yelled, "Baby pool," Tonya says.

One mother told Busch that she brought her child to the classes so the baby could get used to getting his face wet in the bathtub.

Tonya says now that Brock has learned to hold his breath he lies on his back in the bathtub.

The Red Cross booklet cites these benefits from the program:

-- It encourages motor, language, social and emotional development.

-- It offers new challenges, environments, classmates and teachers.

-- It enhances parent-child relationship.

-- It provides fun and enjoyment in the water.

Tonya has seen some of these benefits.

Brock seems to run better and has a better sense of balance.

He seems more confident, especially in the water.

Besides his motor skill development, Tonya says it has been a social experience for her and Brock.

"It is wonderful to go to the pool and talk to people," she says, and Brock gets to play with children his age.

Both get exercise from the classes. Tonya, who lives with her husband, Brad, and Brock at Scott City, gets her exercise bouncing Brock on her hip and up and down and by chasing after him at the pool.

For Brock, he has begun to go to bed earlier and sleeps better after swimming.

The classes help her release some stress, she says. The water is relaxing and becomes a place to relax.

"For us," she says, "the class is a way to get into the water without having to go somewhere."

Tonya thinks Brock will be swimming by the end of next summer.

Who knows? he might be on his way to being a member of a swim team

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Courses available through the Red Cross in addition to swimming:

Adult CPR

Child CPR

Infant CPR

CPR for Professional Rescuer

Preventing disease Transmission

Sports Safety Training

Pet first Aid

Basic Aid Training for Kids

First Aid for Children Today

Babysitter's Training

Basic Water Rescue

Lifeguard Training

Automated External Difibrillator

Instructor Training

Contact: Southeast Missouri Chapter of American Red Cross, (573) 335-9471 or (573) 334-9416