CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, there were 103 child water fatalities in 2024 and 2 of those were at Lake Corpus Christi.
In the Coastal Bend area, where water is everywhere, swimming lessons for infants and young children can be lifesaving. Merritt Wruble has been teaching Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) lessons for about five years in Flour Bluff, serving families from the surrounding areas.
"That's going to be pools, retention ponds, the beach, that we're surrounded by water. We have houses on canals," Wruble said.
The program teaches children from as young as 6 months to 6 years old, focusing on essential water survival skills.
"So we teach them physiologically, psychologically, and behavioral is what my training was," Wruble said.
Wruble's said her methods have show results with even the youngest participants.
"I can get a baby to float in about two to three days, and then fully skilled, like I said, is six weeks, but they start feeling their buoyancy and learning how to hold themselves at the top," she said.
Blakely Aycock started her son in the program when he was 6 months old. He's now 18 months and demonstrating impressive water safety skills.
"One day he just it clicked and it was amazing he turned over and ever since then he's been doing amazing of it," Aycock said.
The lessons provide peace of mind for parents like Andrea Wilczynski, who lives near a canal.
"I don't feel like I'm going to have a heart attack when he's standing right there because I know he's not going to drop to the bottom of the canal like he'll be able to float," Wilczynski said.
While the swimming lessons are valuable, Wruble emphasizes they're just one layer of protection. She also recommends door alarms, pool fencing, and having a designated water watcher.
"A crying baby is an alive baby and drowning is silent and it can happen in a matter of seconds. And if you can't hear that child, first thing you need to do is go look in the water because you just don't know," Wruble said.
For more information about the classes, click here.
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