A mom has hit back at social media users after she faced criticism over a video of her throwing her young son into a deep bank of snow.
The parent in question is 36-year-old Olympic ski champion Julia Mancuso, who recently took to Instagram to share the divisive clip with her 229,000+ followers.
In the video - which has amassed over 5.9 million views - Mancuso can be seen playfully throwing her one-year-old son, Sonny, into a mound of snow so deep he disappears.
Check out the video below:The mom captioned the video: "Sonny loves the snow. Winter is coming! Who is excited?
"I know this video makes some of you pretty nervous, but if you grow up in the snow- you know these days don't come often so when they do you send it!"
And despite many followers finding the video hilarious, some people criticized the mom over the post.
One Instagram user commented: "There is nothing to laugh in launching a baby In the air, it’s stupid and dangerous!"
A second added: "Maybe not hurt but really stupid to say the least."
Another commented: "Poor baby. Sometimes laugh is combined with anxiety. He is too small to say what he really felt."
Other comments also branded the playful act "horrifying", "stupid", and even "child abuse".
In a follow-up post, the mom shared a slow motion clip of Sonny laughing away as he is thrown. She captioned the second post: "Behind the scenes look at how we prepared.
"Just wanted to share because I've gotten some messages that just really don't understand this video.
"Sonny loved it- there was zero risk of something being buried in the snow since it happened over the course of a day on our patio- we literally watched the snow fall.
"We practiced - then we went for it! You really don't get these conditions often and can only enjoy the fluffy softness the very next day- so yeah- I don't think it's a good idea to through your kid into any snow bank... but when it snows like this! It's game on".
Fortunately, there were many comments defending the mom, with some people saying their parents used to do the same thing to them when they were young:
It definitely looks like Sonny had a great time!
