Before last weekend, the videos he "uploaded" gathered - at their best - up to 2.000 views. However, within three days, a video starring her youngest son, Oliver, 8 months old, went viral with more than 51 million views on TikTok and another 20 million reproductions on Twitter!
Meyer's clip shows little Oliver being thrown into the pool water by a swimming instructor!
"Oliver surprises me every week. I can't believe he hasn't completed 2 months in the water and is learning so fast. It's a small fish! " is Meyer's phrase that accompanies the video, which shows Oliver standing for seconds under the surface of the water and then emerging and sitting on his back, in a supine position.
More than 100.000 users commented on the video on TikTok, others in a humorous mood, and there were those who did not take kindly to Meyer's initiative to teach her 8-month-old son to swim this way!
They even threatened to kill her
According to what she pointed out to BuzzFeed, she knew that this video would be considered controversial by many people and would shock many users. "Many people see a baby being thrown into the water and think it's not good! Many other similar ones should not have happened, "he told the American media, adding:" I have even received threatening messages about my life! There were people who told me that I was the worst mother, that I was putting my children's lives in danger and that I was hurting them. "
However, he adds that this training is not a swimming lesson, but a "survival lesson for babies".
A lesson for survival and not for swimming
"What is at stake here is security. We teach 8-month-olds to identify their position and find ways to escape from the water. It looks crazy, but it does, "said Laurie Armstrong, the owner of the swimming pool where the viral video was" shot. "
Armstrong maintains a swimming school for more than seven years and trains its employees for several months before throwing them into the water with children, who can be as old as 7 months. The goal is not to teach them to become Michael Phelps, but to make them feel familiar with the liquid element and to learn how to get to the surface if they sink into the water.
Positive and negative reviews for these programs
These types of programs, based on the muscle memory of infants, have been "running" for some decades since they were in the womb, but have not gone unnoticed.
A 2017 UK report noted that this practice is traumatic for babies' brains, while the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) claimed in 2000 that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that these practices involved the risk of drowning. Last year, however, the Academy argued that every child over the age of one should learn to swim.
At the same time, anti-drowning campaigns in the United States have reported that swimming lessons in young children can save lives.
Little Oliver's mother is not intimidated
For her part, Oliver's mother feels very comfortable with these lessons and does not seem to be intimidated by the threats. "I send my children to swimming lessons, in a very safe environment and with certified instructors. I feel very comfortable with their presence in the water and they need to learn how to fight to survive if that is needed. "