Parents defend “waterskiing baby” after video of the 6-month old goes viral
Mindi and Casey Humphreys are doing their best to raise an active and adventurous child. And just like every other parent who has ever posted anything online about children, they’ve received criticism for their choices.
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Of course, some of their’s have been a bit unconventional.
Baby influencer
Their baby son, Rich Casey Humphreys already has his own Instagram account with over 12,000 followers. And his parents have entertained followers by putting Rich in…well, let’s just say unique situations.
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Mom and dad are always nearby, appearing to put safety first. It’s just that some commenters feel that it’s risky to put a baby in a precarious situation at all.
It’s their right to think that just as much as it’s Mindi and Casey’s right to raise their child the way they want as long as they’re not putting him in real danger.
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Family fun
The Humphreys spend a lot of time near water, so it’s natural that little Rich would as well.
And it looks like a wonderful life!
But a September 12th trip to Lake Powell in Utah raised some eyebrows for one particularly un-baby-like activity – waterskiing!
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The video was reposted by Barstool Sports, after which it went viral, earning over 2 million views in just a few days.
It also earned some backlash with commenters accusing the parents of everything from child abuse to using their baby as a prop for Instagram.
The parents respond
There was no real reason for Casey or Mindi to respond. They hadn’t done anything wrong and were in no danger of having to explain themselves to authorities for an activity they went out of their way to make safe.
Nevertheless, they felt it was important to clap back. (Of course, that once again earned them some criticism for trying to stay in the news).
“He’s just so full of life,” Mindi Humphreys told Good Morning America. “He loves the water.”
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Dad added that the boat was going a mere 5 miles per hour and that he was visibly by his son’s side the entire time in case he lost his balance.
“We had a separate boat out there,” he said. “10 to 12 people with us, including doctors and nurses.”
Of course, one hopes they didn’t plan to have medical staff there just because of the waterskiing. We assume they were traveling with friends, some of whom happened to be doctors and nurses.
Despite little Rich being in a life vest, having his feet secured in footholds, and gripping a handle, some people could only see potential tragedy in the photo.
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The adventure continues
The Humphreys aren’t going to let these comments get in the way though. In fact, Mindi has chosen to interpret some of them as a good thing.
“I really feel like the majority of criticism comes from people caring and people just being concerned and wanting the best for our child,” she told Good Morning America. “So honestly we appreciate that.”
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Rich has been enrolled in swim classes and had a custom board made for him, so this isn’t an activity for any parent to let their baby engage in, of course.
They also got the OK from Rich’s pediatrician before setting him out on this particular adventure.
“We talked to his pediatrician and before we water-skied, he was super impressed by how far along Rich and he’s really well developed for his age,” Mindi said. “He said it’s fine and to not worry.”
Be sure to scroll down below to see Rich in action.
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Source: Good Morning America, Instagram – @richcaseyhumphreys