Pink sparks debate with video of son crying during swimming lesson

Pink has sparked debate with a video of her son crying during his swimming lesson.

The mum posted a video of her son Jameson, who turns two next month, during a swimming lesson. Alongside the clip, she wrote: ‘Swimming lessons are fu*king fun you guys’.

In the short video, the little boy is seen learning how to swim with a teacher and starts crying during his lesson.

After posting the clip, the mum was faced with a few negative comments, some of which accusing her of being 'cruel' and of  ‘child abuse’.

One also said: ‘I couldn’t upset my child like that’.

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Responding to the criticism, the singer wrote: ‘My daughter started at 6 months. Cried every day for five days. Then I took her again at 18 months. Cried every day. Again at 2 1/2. Screamed bloody murder.

‘My hands were shaking. On the way to the car she said “mama, that was so much fun.” I was like, “WHAT?!” Now, she swims like an actual fish, and she loves it. And I no longer worry about her every second she’s in the water.

‘My son, this is his first lesson. But when he is also safe in the water and knows how to swim out of a pool without panicking, or knows how to roll over and lay on his back, Believe me sweetie, you’re the last person I’ll be thinking of. Swimming should be safe first, and then fun.’

The mum’s post and her response to the backlash got a lot of support from parents who also recognise how important it is to teach kids how to swim.

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One said: 'What a big guy, even going under the water when he wasn't keen. Learning to swim, and pool safety from a young age is imperative! Thanks for showing the good and bad of this. That's life!'

Another added: ‘I started my kids at 3 months. Yes they cry. It is a new experience. It is essential for them to learn how to swim especially if you live near water. My middle son cried all the time, but he had to learn.

'As he got older he was very thankful because he knew how to swim and some of his friends did not. My husband was taught by being thrown off a boat in the middle of the lake and told to swim. He ended up becoming a lifeguard for disabled kids as a teenager. The baby is fine. Everyone needs to just chill the f*ck out. Pink you do such a wonderful job raising your kids.’

Mariana Cerqueira
Lifestyle Editor

Mariana is a lifestyle writer who has written for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life. She joined the Goodto.com team as an intern after completing her journalism MA at City University. After six months spent writing about food, celebrity news, and family trends, Mariana left to write for Healthy Food magazine - but returned in 2017, to join the Future team once again. In her spare time, you’ll find Mariana in the kitchen cooking for her friends.