AUDREY Roloff has been slammed for leaving her sobbing one-year-old son Bode alone in the pool during a "scary" swimming lesson.
The Little People, Big World star, 29, has enrolled her youngest child in ISR lessons -which is an "infant swimming resource self-rescue program".
The aim is to teach babies as young as six months old what to do if they fall in the pool.
Instructors teach kids to turn over and float on their backs if they fall in a pool and can't swim.
Audrey got both of her kids – Bode and Ember, three – to participate in the training, which consists of five-minute classes for five days a week for up to six weeks.
She explained it was "super-important" for her to do so because her parents have a pool and because in Oregon – where she's based – it's not compulsory for pools to have security measures like gates or alarms.
Audrey – who is pregnant with her third child with husband Jeremy Roloff, 31 – filmed Bode's progress across two weeks, sharing several clips of the toddler screaming in the pool with an instructor.
Bode looked visibly distressed in the videos, splashing around and crying as an instructor taught him how to float.
'A LIFE SKILL'
Audrey admitted that Bode's screaming was "hard" to watch – but insisted the lessons are "worth it".
She wrote: "Our instructor always says screaming is good at this age cause then you know they are breathing and you can hear them if they do ever get in a situation where they fall in."
The reality star added: "And yes, every other kid Bode's age cries walking into class and during.
"I think some of it is also stranger danger and it's hard on your mama heart at first but it's so worth the skills they are learning."
Audrey also explained that Ember learned to float in the first three days of the lessons and was swimming by the fourth day.
Critics slammed Audrey's decision to let Bode get in the pool, claiming he seemed "terrified" in the footage she shared.
"I understand it, but I don’t like it. It can save lives but man that kid seemed terrified. I don’t think I could put my little one through it," one wrote on Reddit.
Another added: "I am a swimmer, I learned young, but a child screaming like that isn’t good… he isn’t ready, and forcing it isn’t good or safe."
A third questioned why Audrey would film her son appearing to be so upset and post it online.
They wrote: "I will say I would NEVER record that and show it to my 1 million + followers though, that’s for sure.
"She 100% KNOWS she is going to get people talking and blowing up her DMs. She thrives on the attention, doesn’t matter if it’s positive or negative."
Others leapt to the blogger's defense, insisting ISR lessons are "crucial" for children's safety.
One commented: "I got ISR lessons from the exact same instructor for my own child. It’s a crucial safety tool and life skill to help for their future."
Another agreed: "As a former swimmer and swim teacher, I am actually applauding Audrey for getting her kids the skills they need, especially because they are around the water.
"ISR is not your typical mommy and me swim class, it was created to make sure babies and kids have the skills to survive a fall in the pool.
"When we see stories about toddlers drowning in the news, it’s devastating. The skills Bode is learning will hopefully mean he doesn’t become one of those statistics."
Audrey and her husband Jeremy are no stranger to controversy as both have been feuding with various family members.
Audrey has a strained relationship with her sister-in-law Tori, who snubbed her recent pregnancy announcement.
Jeremy, meanwhile, has been clashing for years with his brother Jacob over their opposing political views.
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