There are many special moments in a boy’s childhood when he gets to bond with his ol’ dad. Learning to ride a bike, playing a game of catch… they’re the kind of moments you look back on years later when remembering the halcyon days of your youth. I mean, who doesn’t rifle through the photobook of their memories and go “aw, I remember when dad grabbed me by the collar and threw me into the sea.”
OK, maybe that’s not a universal parent-child bonding activity, but it is how one expert swimmer of a father taught his two young sons how to let loose in the water. As seen in the below TikTok, when the boys’ old man encouraged them to jump into the open water, the kids weren’t exactly looking like they were going to become the next Michael Phelps. Until, that is, the dad took it upon himself to get them over their fear in an instant. Cue the screams and the splashes.
Unsurprisingly, this dad’s actions have created a storm of differing opinions in the comments. Some are dead against this swimming lesson tactic, declaring “Just came here to see who thinks this is the worst thing ever and how the kids will be traumatized.” On the other hand, some see it as an example of exactly why dads are “so important,” because they “make your kids do what they believe to be uncomfortable.” Meanwhile, this was nothing new for any Gen-X’ers out there. “How all kids learned to swim in the 80s,” one wrote.
To be clear, though, if any fathers out there are planning on teaching their kids to swim any time soon, you might not want to repeat this dad’s trick off the cuff. The video comes with a disclaimer that “The actions in this video are performed by professionals or supervised by professionals. Do not attempt.” So make sure to think twice before you try any extreme dad-ing of your own.