Loose Women reveal shock over ‘cruel’ baby survival swimming technique
LOOSE Women panellists reacted in shock over a controversial technique which sees babies thrown face first into water.
The Swim Survival Technique sees babies as young as six months tossed into a pool, where they’re left to their own devices to come back up for air.
The technique has been around for a few years but gained attention after a TikTok video showing the controversial method went viral.
Krysta Meyer got death threats after posting the video where her youngest son, Oliver, was seen successfully turning on his back after the swim instructor threw him in the water.
The Loose Women agreed the method was very shocking but teaching kids how to swim was very important.
Jane Moore wondered: “Do we teach kids a fear of water, do they lose that sense [of survival] because we teach them to panic.”
Host Nadia Sawalha explained that babies have a “bradycardi reflex” which allows them to instinctively turn over when their face hits cold water.
She said: “But that instinct fades away after six months.”
Scottish TV presenter Kaye Adams then revealed a shocking story of the time she saw a boy drown when she was just eight years old.
She recalled: “When I was eight, my brother and I witnessed the dreadful drowning of a boy about our age.
“We saw him at the bottom of pool.”
Kaye then revealed her mum who was a nurse tried to give the boy CPR until help arrived, but could not save him.
She said: “The scream of the mother will stay with me all of my life.
“Everyone should be very wary of water.”
Viewers were divided about the controversial technique and took to Twitter to share their views.
One Twitter user said: “I was pushed in the swimming pool at the age of 8 and I have never learnt to swim, was so frightened so no wouldn’t throw a child in water just could cause anxiety as it did with me x”
A second wrote: “Most infants will reflexively hold their breath when submerged to protect their airway and are able to survive immersion in water for short periods of time. Airtime filler or what?”
And a third added: “Earlier do it the better cos it’s a similarity to being in the womb.”
Krysta, the mum at the centre of the viral clip which racked up more than 51 million views on TikTok and more than 22 million views on Twitter said she’s received death threats as a result and has been criticized for “traumatizing” her children.
In the viral clip, the instructor launches Oliver into the pool and immediately jumps into the water afterward.
She then watches him make his way to the surface and floats on his back before she picks him up and gingerly holds him over her shoulder.
The course focuses on how to get babies to be more comfortable in the water and learn to float on their backs.
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Programs similar to the one at Little Fins have existed for decades, but haven’t escaped criticism.
A 2017 report from the UK argued that the practice is harmful to young brains, while in 2000 the American Academy of Pediatrics said there wasn’t any data to show whether these programs made kids safe from drowning.
But anti-drowning advocates say infant swimming classes can save lives.
Water Smart Tots, a nonprofit aimed at eliminating child drowning, says children should be taught “water safety and swimming skills as early as possible.”