Toddler thrown into pool for ‘swimming survival’ lesson divides parents

A video of a swimming instructor throwing a one-year-old into a pool to teach her “survival” skills has divided parents over the tough tactic.

A furious debate has erupted over a controversial video showing a woman deliberately pushing a toddler into a swimming pool as part of a “survival” lesson.

In the video which has been viewed more than 11.2 million times, the “paediatric drowning prevention specialist” named Shannon is already in the water when she pulls the one-year-old in fully clothed.

The instructor stands there and watches the flailing child for around 30 seconds before finally lifting her from the water.

She posted her video on TikTok and wrote: “Crying = breathing. We want to find our children face up in the water.

“One-year-old coat, shoes, regular diaper. What if you never heard your child cry again because you didn’t prepare them with aquatic survival swim lessons?”

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The woman was already in the water when the one-year-old enters fully clothed when she drags the youngster into the pool. Picture: TikTok.

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The video attracted dozens of comments with some praising the instructor for teaching the little girl survival skills.

“My father did this to me fifty years ago. I have been a strong swimmer all my life,” one person wrote.

“This is what schools should be teaching students about life instead of coddling them. Sink or swim,” another said in agreement.

But not everyone agreed with the teaching technique, warning it could have the opposite effect.

“I would have thought this sort of treatment would have put a child off getting into water for life,” one person commented.

“Teach your babies how to swim in the correct manner, without the psychological damage and trauma from using this extreme technique,” another said.

This technique is commonly used by swimming instructors in the United States. Picture: TikTok.

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This technique is commonly used by swimming instructors in the United States, teaching toddlers survival techniques rather than specific strokes.

The instructors teach children to roll over from a facedown position in the water to floating on their back face-up.

Because infants and toddlers are unable to raise their heads to take a breath, knowing how to roll on to their backs could save their life.

The ‘roll over breathing’ technique takes many months of practice but parents are able to feel more comfortable that should their child fall into a swimming pool, they are likely to survive.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission