By now, you've probably seen–or at least heard of–the video of 5-year-old Anaia swimming with sharks in the Bahamas. The video was posted to YouTube by her parents Elana and David Barnes and it quickly went viral with many people accusing them of being irresponsible. While I personally wouldn't have allowed my daughter to do the same (nor would I have done it myself), I think the whole thing has been blow out of proportion.
You have to watch the entire video to see that little Anaia was never in real danger. She was with an instructor at all times and both her parents were in the very shallow waters with her. Plus, as it's been said by countless experts, the three shark species they were swimming with are rarely aggressive.
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I know and I agree that a parent's job is to protect their children and keep them out of harm's way and so, to many, what these parents did was exactly the opposite. But the Barnes have defended themselves by saying that they did their research and figured the risks were low, but the possibility of nurturing an adventurous spirit in their daughter was high. So they went with it.
I personally wouldn't have done it because I hate sharks and my kids would've been able to see and sense my fear immediately, so that wouldn't have worked out. But just because I wouldn't have done it, doesn't mean others shouldn't do it. From the looks of it, Anaia loved it and I'm sure this is only the beginning of many an adventure for her.
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In the end, I don't think it's any of our business what the Barnes family did or didn't do while on vacation in the Bahamas. Honestly, I'm getting real tired of people being so quick to point out other parents' faults without looking at themselves first.
Embedded content: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4ThoO1Rq2c&feature=player_embedded
What do you think of the video? Would you allow your 5-year-old to swim with sharks?
Image via YouTube
