Mother whose son drowned defends controversial video of baby learning to swim

Keri Morrison's son drowned during a family holday

It has utterly divided the opinions of those who have watched it.

The video shows mother Keri Morrison with her baby girl, Josie, struggling to stay afloat in a swimming pool.

Many have been outraged by the video and accused Ms Morrison, from Florida, as risking her child’s life. She, meanwhile, has defended her actions and explained she was teaching her child to swim after her son Jake drowned in 2013 on a family holiday when he was just two years old.

Ms Morrison has defended the video (Family)

“My son is no longer here because he didn’t have these skills,” she told Fox News.

“To me, I’m protecting her, and that’s what a parent is supposed to do - to protect her child - and I feel like I failed my son, and I’m not going to fail my daughter.”

The video, posted on Facebook earlier this month shows the girl sitting on a step in swimming pool. An adult, who is not on camera puts a sandal in front of her to get the girl to grab it.

The girl reaches for the sandal, falls face first into the pool, and begins flipping over and floating. Critics argued the girl appeared to struggle to keep her head above the water.

The little girl, Josie, reportedly underwent four weeks of swimming lessons when she was aged six months.

Ms Morrison's son drowned during a family holiday (Family)

Ashleigh Bullivant of Infant Swimming Resource, said the babies were taught to hold their breath, float, and roll over without sinking. Typically, the lessons last for ten minutes.

“Our students at Infant Swimming Resource are taught everything incrementally in a very gentle way and honours the way they learn physically,” she told the channel.

Ms Morrison said she wanted her daughter to know what to do if she falls into the water.

“That vision is what fires me up to make sure that other children are safe and can do this in the water,” she added.