Teaching a child to swim is considered to be a fundamental part of modern parenting. So why did one mother face so much backlash when she posted a video to Facebook of her infant daughter at a swimming lesson?
US woman Keri Morrison has faced a tirade after posting a video of her 13-month-old daughter, who was six-months-old at the time, struggling to stay afloat in a pool. This is because Morrison’s two-year-old son tragically died in a drowning incident in 2013.
The video, uploaded by Facebook user ‘DOV’, shows the infant grabbing for a toy that’s out of her reach and falling face first into the water. The little girl is seen struggling to keep her head afloat while the person filming remains calm and does not intervene.
You can watch the video below. Post continues after video.
The clip, which is captioned ‘so hard to watch but every kid should learn this young’ has been viewed nearly 600,000 times. Facebook users have given mixed emotions to the video, with some agreeing the child was not in any danger and some saying they have ‘mixed emotions’.
“This baby has obviously gone through infant safety self rescue classes,” Facebook user, Erin Gooch said.
“I don’t see this as cruel. If this baby ever fell into a body of water, she would be able to save herself long enough for someone to come help her. A bigger shame is all the kids who are never taught these skills and who drown in pools and other bodies of water.”
This comment hit close to home for Morrison, who spoke to Fox News about the video. Morrison says the reason she's so passionate about water safety is because her son Jake drowned when he was two, and so she 'knows the alternative'.
"My son is no longer here because he didn't have these skills. I'm protecting her and that's what a parent is supposed to do, protect their child," Morrison told Fox News.
"I feel like I failed my son and I'm not going to fail my daughter."
Top Comments
I think this is amazing! I don't understand why she had any backlash at all?
It was a completely controlled environment and that baby has obviously been taught how to handle herself in water, the only question I have is why all kids don't get this?! It's not a nice thought but accidents do happen & if it saved just 1 childs life surely it's worth it!
you can save a child from drowning by eyeballing them all the time they are around water. Just like you can prevent a car crash by not texting or checking your messages.
And by getting them taught to swim
"you should've..." doesn't bring a child back to life. No one is perfect - a loving parent is not going to stand by while their child drowns but accidents happen
So what happens if you are hit by another driver who is texting? Point is accidents can happen to anyone no matter how careful you are.
This baby is amazing.....I watched in awe at her ability to float like that. An amazing mum doing everything to ensure another drowning accident does not happen.
If every child was taught this how many children would be alive today? If we take emotion out of it and replace it with good old common sense there would be no backlash.