As parents, we always strive to keep our children safe, especially when it comes to activities like swimming. While many of us focus on the risks in the water, there’s one common mistake that we often overlook without realizing it. Today, we want to share an important tip that can make a big difference in ensuring your child’s safety at the pool.
Picture this: your child exits the pool, feeling chilly and shivering. Your immediate reaction is to wrap them in a towel to keep them warm, right? Well, here’s something you may not know. Wrapping towels around your child’s shoulders and arms can actually be dangerous.
Certified swimming teacher Nikki Scarnati has been sharing valuable pool safety tips through her TikTok videos (@scarnati.swim). In one of her videos, she emphasizes how this seemingly innocent act of wrapping towels can put your child’s safety at risk.
To ensure your child’s safety, Nikki demonstrates the proper way to wrap them in a towel. Instead of wrapping the towel over their shoulders and arms, she advises placing the towel underneath their arms, allowing their arms to remain free. By doing this, children have the ability to use their arms to swim to safety in case of an accidental fall into the water.
This simple tip promotes self-rescue and provides an additional layer of protection for your child. Remember, it’s vital to keep their limbs accessible in case of emergencies.
Nikki has also provided some additional helpful advice based on questions and comments from her TikTok video. If your child tends to move the towel to cover their shoulders for warmth, she suggests wrapping it and tucking it in the back so they can still move freely. Alternatively, you can consider using a different style of towel or a Terry cloth robe.
It’s worth noting that wrapping the towel beneath your child’s arms has an added benefit. In case your child trips, they can use their arms to catch themselves and avoid hitting the ground.
By being aware of this simple mistake and taking the necessary precautions, we can ensure better protection for our children while they have a safe and enjoyable swimming experience.
Remember, a little extra caution can go a long way in keeping our kids safe. So, let’s make sure we don’t wrap our children in towels and instead wrap them with love and proper pool safety precautions!
