Mother defends controversial video of infant daughter learning to swim

A mother is fighting back against critics after she posted a video of her 13-month-old baby trying to stay afloat in a pool.

The video went viral as many viewers were outraged and accused the mom of risking her child's life.

Mom Keri Morrison of Florida, US, discussed the background to the video and responded to controversy explaining that she was teaching her daughter to swim after her 2-year-old son, Jake, drowned in 2013.

“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.

"You're seeing a 6-month-old sitting on the steps playing, which can be a real life situation,'' Morrison said.

"She falls in and she turns over and saves herself and floats for over a minute and a half. I don't see how there could be anything negative about that."

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

She was taught using a technique called Infant Swimming Resource (ISR). It teaches children as young as six months old how to "self-rescue."

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