Parents Accused Of Child Abuse For Letting 6-Month-Old Water Ski

Some kids tend to show their talents at an early age and that is definitely the case for Casey and Mindi Humphreys' son, Rich. At just six months old, little Rich is already a water skier. His proud parents recently posted photos and videos of their little boy loving the water sport after trying it for the first time. They shared the pics and footage, which were taken at Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border, and captioned the post, "6 months 4 days! Take one look at this kid and tell me he isn’t having the time of his life! Such a little stud! #worldrecord."

The video went viral, especially after Barstool Sports shared it on their Instagram page, where millions of people watched it. Plenty of those viewers decided to shame Tyler and Mindi. Among the comments were things like, "This child is far too young to be on the water unattended - is in real danger of drowning or letting go and seriously hurting himself," "Yes, [you're] an adventurous family but this just isn't okay," "So many things could have gone wrong. [It's not cute just for likes," "So dangerous and stupid," and "He looks scared and unsure." One person went so far as to call it "child abuse," while others used words like "reckless" and "irresponsible."

Rich's parents defended their actions, explaining to Good Morning America that the boy was wearing a life vest, strapped onto small foot holds and holding a large handle. They added that the boat pulling him was going just five-miles-per-hour and that Casey was by his son's side the whole time. He explained, "We had a separate boat out there," noting that there were "10 to 12 people with us, including doctors and nurses."

The parents also said they'd enrolled Rich in an infant swimming class and practiced on the board with him on land before moving onto the water. Casey stated, "He has never fallen off of it before. When we put him on the board and had him on the top he, he was right at home."

Mindi revealed they spoke to his pediatrician before hitting the lake too and that the doctor was "super impressed by how far along Rich was" and how "he's really well developed for his age." She said the pediatrician told them, "It's fine and not to worry."

As for those who do worry, Mindi is okay with it, saying, "I really feel like the majority of criticism comes from people caring and people just being concerned and wanting the best for our child. So honestly we appreciate that."

Casey is pretty sure Rich broke a world record for water skiing at his young age and hopes Rich sticks with water skiing, adding that if Rich does Casey knows his son will be famous some day. He said, "Whether you agree with what we’ve done for Rich and what he accomplished or not, you can understand how exciting it is to see your child accomplish something."

Photo: Getty Images


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