A professional swimming instructor has issued a stern warning for parents to avoid wrapping a towel around their children’s shoulders, and revealed there is a ‘right’ way to wrap a child up to dry them.
After spotting many parents making a similar ‘mistake’ after lessons, certified US swim coach Nikki Scarnati warned it can restrict their movement if they were to fall in the water.
Nikki, who teaches swimming lessons in Spring Hills, Florida, has demonstrated a different way to use a towel in a video with her young daughter, which is by securely tucking the towel under the child’s arms after drying them off.
‘I see it happening so many times, and I did it without realising for so long,’ she says in the video.
‘When you get your child out of the pool, it’s natural to want to cover them completely – but if they were to fall into the pool this way, all of their limbs are going to be restricted underneath a wet towel.’
The mum advised: ‘After you get them out of the pool, you should first dry their arms off and put the towel underneath their arms.’
‘This way, if they end up in the water they can still have access to their limbs to self-rescue, and they’re that much safer,’ she added.
The swim instructor also urged parents to make sure the towel isn’t long enough to be a trip hazard.
Certified US swim coach Nikki Scarnati recently issued a stern warning for parents to avoid wrapping a towel around their children’s shoulders because it can restrict their movement if they were to fall in the water
In response to the viral video, many parents shared horror stories about children getting into accidents while wrapped in a towel
Nikki’s simple hack can also prevent children from tipping over because they can use their arms to steady themselves.
In response to Nikki’s viral video, many parents shared horror stories about children getting into accidents while wrapped in a towel.
‘I stopped wrapping my kids at the shoulder after my son tripped up stairs and split his chin open because his arms were trapped instead of being able to catch himself as he fell,’ a dad said. ‘Better to be cold than to rush to the ER for stitches.’
‘I can confirm this is true,’ another woman echoed. ‘When I was two, I fell into the deep end of a pool with my towel on around my arms and I had to be rescued.’
But others were sceptical and couldn’t see how tucking a towel around a small child would help.
‘I think the instructor’s way is actually more restricting: you’re tucking the towel around the child,’ a mum said.
‘But if the child is just holding a towel wrapped around themselves and they fall in the pool – they won’t still be holding the towel and it’s likely to just slip off,’ she added.
‘I think that if it’s fastened around them, it could potentially wrap around their legs, and/or pull them under the water with the weight of it being wet and still wrapped around the child’s lower body,’ another wrote.
By The Dunes (@bythedunes) has come up with another solution for keeping kids safe with its Jumpsuit Towels
In a TikTok video, the wearable towels company warns of the dangers of letting your kids wear ponchos by the beach, as kids often trip up on them
A third said: ‘Wrapping under the arms would restrict leg movement, making it more likely that they would trip.’
By The Dunes (@bythedunes) has come up with another solution for keeping kids safe with its Jumpsuit Towels.
In a TikTok video, the wearable towels company warns of the dangers of letting your kids wear ponchos by the beach, as kids often trip up on them.
They added their Jumpsuit Towels ‘prevent trips and falls around water’.
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