Camden, South Carolina - A scary-looking swimming lesson went viral after the TikTok video showed the instructor throwing a baby into the pool and hoping she'll swim, not sink.

In a TikTok video that has since amassed more than 11.2 million views, swimming instructor Shannon is seen standing in the pool. On the edge is a fully clothed one-year-old.

When the recording starts, the woman pushes the toddler into the pool. The little girl seems to panic. As she whimpers and cries, Shannon stands by and encourages her to roll over onto her back and float, keeping her mouth and nose above water.

The caption says, "Crying = breathing! We want our children to keep their heads above water."

For thirty seconds the child does her best to turn over onto her back, jerking herself straight as her body keeps naturally twisting downwards, before she is finally grabbed by the instructor.

"1yo coat, shoes, regular diaper. What if you never heard your child cry again bc you didn’t prepare them with #aquaticsurvival #swimlessons" is the description that accompanies the video.

According to Shannon, who describes her self as a "pediatric drowning prevention specialist," there is actually a sound method behind what at surface level looks like child abuse.

Survival techniques are supposed to teach small children how to keep afloat and alive, instead of focusing on the actual basics of swimming.

TikTok's users have very mixed reactions to the video, as well as a variety of other videos posted by Sharron showing her doing more-or-less the same thing, according to the Sun.

Some users are fans of the method. One of them wrote, "My father done this to me fifty years ago. I have been a strong swimmer all my life."

Another agreed and added that this is what schools should be teaching their students, "instead of coddling them. Sink or swim."

But not everyone is enthusiastic about this method. It does look pretty extreme, after all: "I would have thought this sort of treatment would have put a child off getting into water for life."

Another user thought that it would be better to teach children to "swim properly" without scaring them or causing psychological pain.

The discussion apparently got so heated that the TikTok user blocked the comment function for the viral video. In fact, the video is now no longer even listed on her page, despite many others showing off the technique.

Regardless of this method's effectiveness, drowning is a serious issue and the third "leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide" according to the World Health Organization. In the US, it is the second leading cause.