Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Mom Hit With Death Threats After Viral Video Of Her Infant Son Being Thrown Into Pool By Swim Instructor Sparks Controversy

Mom Hit With Death Threats After Viral Video Of Her Infant Son Being Thrown Into Pool By Swim Instructor Sparks Controversy
@mom.of.2.boyss/TikTok

A Colorado mom is having her life threatened online after one of her TikTok videos went wildly viral.

The video features a controversial method of teaching swimming to infants – having an instructor throw them into a pool – and the online outrage has been swift and overwhelming.


The mother who recorded the video, 27-year-old Krysta Meyer of Colorado Springs, has only been on TikTok since February, recording videos that would get a couple thousand views at most.

But a video she took of her infant son's swimming lesson suddenly rocketed her to viral infamy in just a few days: as of yesterday, the video has been viewed more than 51 million times on TikTok and 20 million times on Twitter.

Why? Because it shows 8-month-old Oliver being tossed into a pool by his instructor like a sack of potatoes.

In fairness to Ms. Meyer, this is an extremely common method for teaching babies to swim. The focus is not so much on learning to backstroke, but on survival: should a baby, say, fall into a pool, the thinking goes, they will know how to get themselves to air so that they can survive until they're rescued. This type of class is in fact called an "infant survival class."

Speaking to BuzzFeed News, Lauri Armstrong, co-owner of the Little Fins Swim School where Meyer's son takes classes, explained it this way:

"The whole premise behind what we do is safety. We teach 8-month-olds to assess their situation and find an exit strategy [in water]. I know it seems crazy."

The classes teach infants how to flip over and float on their backs should they fall into a body of water, using their muscle memory from floating in the womb.

There isn't exactly consensus on the method though: As BuzzFeed reports, British advocacy organization Birthlight has argued that the practice is traumatizing, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said since 2000 that there is no evidence of the method's efficacy.

Which may in part explain why Meyer's video has angered some people – to the point of threatening her with violence. As she told BuzzFeed:

"A lot of people are seeing a kid being thrown into the water and thinking, That's not good! You shouldn't be doing that! I've gotten death threats. I've had people tell me I'm the worst kind of mom, that I'm endangering my children, that I'm traumatizing them."

And the Twitter response partly bore out Ms. Meyer's claims – many people were upset by the video.



But many others were, like little Oliver's instructor, totally on board with the method.




And of course, this being Twitter, there were jokes!



While methods like Little Fins' may be a bit much for some parents, swimming skills for small children are vitally important according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which last year recommended that all children over one year of age should learn to swim.

More from Trending

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less