Mom takes kids to pool, then sees where toddler is: “Shaking and sweating”

A 2-year-old girl left her mom in cold sweats after taking on a terrifying high dive, all because she had seen her older brothers accomplish the same feat.

While on summer vacation with her family in Chicago, Illinois, Amanda Ivanelli would have loved to relax and unwind, but looking after her five children put that out of the question. As she lay beside the pool, she watched her four sons climb the ladder to the high dive and leap into the clear water below.

There was just one problem—despite only being 2 years old, her daughter Capri also wanted to give it a try.

Ivanelli, 38, of Florida, told Newsweek that her “stomach was a knot” when she watched her youngest child tackle the high dive. But Capri didn’t want to let her brothers have all the fun, and she felt inspired to take on the challenge.

“I was sweating and nervous, but I kept telling myself that my fears are not her fears,” Ivanelli said. “It was the hardest thing ever, and I just wanted to cry. But I stayed strong because I knew my boys were there to help her.”

Indeed, with four protective older brothers cheering her on, Capri knew she was in safe hands.

When she was talking about doing the high dive, Ivanelli heard one of her sons say, “if she goes, I’m going in for her.”

After seeing her daughter complete the dive so fearlessly, Ivanelli couldn’t help but feel immense pride in her youngest child.

She continued: “Even the climb up the ladder is pretty nerve-wracking. And the fact that she didn’t hesitate at the end, it shows that she was secure in her decision. She kind of popped up after and was like, ‘What’s the big deal?’ I don’t think anybody even cheered because we were all so nervous.”

Of course, it was heartening to see her sons lift Capri up and motivate her, but Ivanelli added she hopes that her daughter won’t want to dive into the pool again as her own nerves can’t handle it. She was “shaking and sweating” enough the first time round.

The proud mom shared footage of her daughter’s bravery on Instagram (@aivanelli), and it has gone viral with over 25.8 million views and more than 1.5 million likes at the time of writing.

While some social-media users were undoubtedly concerned about her safety, others took to the comments section to praise the toddler for taking it in her stride. This has led to more than 6,000 comments on the viral post in just a matter of days.

Ivanelli told Newsweek: “There’s a lot of sensitive people who commented, but, truthfully, I’m a mama of five, so I’m pretty laid-back—I have to be with four crazy boys. And now I’m going to have my hands full with this girl.”

Among the thousands of responses, one Instagram user commented: “It’s the big brother rushing to get her for me. So sweet.”

Another social-media user wrote: “INDEPENDENT, FEARLESS, COURAGEOUS, STRONG, because 4 brothers taught her she COULD!”

A third commenter added: “So fearless!! Love that she has this character trait at 2 years old!”

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