One-year-old pulled into pool for 'swimming survival' lesson divides parents

NZ Herald

21 Oct, 2020 08:22 PM2 mins to read

The video attracted dozens of comments online. Photo / TikTok

A video showing a woman pulling a fully-clothed toddler into a swimming pool during a "survival" lesson has caused a heated debate online.

The video which has been viewed over 12 million times, shows the "paediatric drowning prevention specialist" named Shannon pulling the 1-year-old into the water.

The child is dressed in a puffer jacket, shoes, a diaper and pants and the instructor can be seen watching the child flail around for 30 seconds before being lifted out of water.

The instructor 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?"

However, the video attracted a lot of attention online, with some sharing praise for the technique.

"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 was on board, with some noting that the technique could leave children traumatised.

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

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

The technique is reportedly used by swimming instructors in the United Stated, who teach survival techniques first before swimming skills.

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

Because infants and toddlers can't raise their heads to take a breath, knowing how to roll on to their backs is said to help save their life.

The "rollover 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.