Swim coach warns of towel mistake that could prove fatal

A professional swim instructor is warning parents about how they wrap their kids in a towel, saying one method could prove fatal if they were to fall.

Swim instructor warns of mistake when it comes to kids and towels. Picture: TikTok/@scarnati.swim

A swim instructor has revealed that wrapping a towel around your kids’ shoulders could be a mistake with deadly consequences.

Nikki Scarnati, who posts water safety content on TikTok, took to the social media app to show parents how to “properly” put a towel around a child after they’ve been for a dip.

“I see it happen so many times, and I, myself, as a parent did it without even realising it was a thing,” Nikki told her followers.

She said when kids get out of a pool, it’s a natural instinct to wrap a towel around their shoulders.

A swim instructor has warned of common mistake when it comes to kids and towels. Picture: TikTok/@scarnati.swim

“But, if they were to fall in the pool this way, all of their limbs are going to be restricted underneath a wet towel,” she said.

Instead, parents should dry their child’s arms and shoulders before wrapping the towel underneath their arms.

“That way, if they end up in the water, they still have access to their limbs to self-rescue and they’re that much safer,” she said.

In Australia, between 2011 and 2021, 105 children between the ages of five and 14 drowned, dying as a result.

But, 455 children between the same year range in the five to nine-year-old category experienced a non-fatal drowning, according to Royal Life Saving research.

In the 10 to 14 age group category, this number dropped significantly to 240 children experiencing a non-fatal drowning.

Nikki Scarnati said wrapping a young child completely in a towel could be fatal if they were to fall into the pool. Picture: TikTok/@scarnati.swim

She said tucking the towel under children's arms was the way to go. Picture: TikTok/@scarnati.swim

A quarter of kids who drowned had a pre-existing medical condition such as a seizure disorder, asthma or autism.

Fourteen per cent of drownings happened due to falling in the water.

Several mothers were thankful to Nikki for her advice about how kids should be wrapped in towels post-swim.

“I can confirm this is true. When I was two I fell into the deep end of a rec pool with my towel on around my arms, and I had to be rescued,” one social media user said.

Another said: “That’s a great idea! I bought my son an oversized towel hoodie so his arms stay covered but he’s got mobility.”