Mom Slammed For Video Of Her Baby Being Thrown Into Pool For A ‘Surprise Test’
She says the lesson could save her child's life.
@simonecchristensen / TikTok A video of a 14-month-old baby being thrown into a pool during a swim lesson is sparking debate among parents on TikTok.
The video, which has received over 6 million views, depicts baby Scout being tossed into a swimming pool where she appears to struggle to resurface for several moments as her swim instructor watches on. The video has provoked mixed reactions from parents.
The video was originally posted by TikTok user @simonecchristensen, baby Scout’s mother. “Watch my 14-month-old pass her surprise float test!” she titles the video.
A person off camera carries Scout to the edge of the pool, fully clothed and wearing shoes, and proceeds to throw her into the pool.
She is fully submerged underwater and it takes her a few moments to resurface before she goes under again. She then flips onto her back underwater before rising to the water’s surface. Her swim instructor is always within arm's length of her but does not intervene as Scout struggles to resurface.
When she does finally come up, she is visibly upset and crying. Her swim instructor cheers her on and claps for her.
“I know it looks scary but because of these classes she can save herself in an emergency!” her mother captioned the video.
The baby's swimming lesson has sparked a debate among other parents.
“She won’t sink for sure but she might actually and I’m not joking and have a heart attack from so much shock, plus the baby might drink too much pool water,” one user wrote.
“OKAY BUT WHAT IF SHE FAILED THE TEST?? Have you ever heard of dry drowning?! I get the teaching but this was hard to watch,” another user commented.
Other parents have responded to the video by stitching their own to the original.
“I don’t know about the baby but I’m f—king traumatized,” a father and TikTok user @olgerviks said in a video referring to baby Scout being thrown into the pool. He pans to his own infant daughter sleeping behind him. “As a Dad, it’s a no from me,” he captioned the video.
“What happens to the babies who fail the test?” @jordanrasko said in response to the video, implying a drowning risk.
However, other parents praised the baby’s mother for exposing her daughter to the water at a young age.
“My grandchildren did this at 6 months. They are teens now and expert swimmers,” one TikTok user commented.
“Idk about y’all, but where I’m from it’s completely normal to do these lessons. These lessons could mean the difference in drowning situations,” another user pointed out.
The baby’s mother defended herself against criticism by stating that her daughter had been enrolled in swim lessons for a long period of time and that the test was only performed once over the entirety of the lessons.
“Y’all really don’t seem to get the part where this is a ONE TIME test after 5 months of normal lessons,” she assured TikTok users in the comments.
In addition, she posted a follow-up video of her daughter happily enjoying the water with her swim instructor after the test in response to a user who commented asking if the baby was “traumatized.”
“This was the next lesson! She absolutely loves her swim lessons! The test only happens once!”
According to the CDC, drowning is the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among children aged 0-17, and the leading cause among children aged 1-4. Teaching water safety will decrease deaths by demonstrating to children what they should do should they find themselves alone in a pool.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.