Water safety: Tiny Hearts founder and former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz shares water safety high-five tip

With the weather heating up, so many of us are thinking about getting in the pool or heading out for a swim.

But when it comes to safety around water, Tiny Hearts founder and former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz has a warning for parents and one simple tip to keep your kids safe. 

The mum of three has seen how quickly things can go wrong in and around the water, so makes her kids do one thing before getting in the pool. 

Watch the video above. 

“One of the most important things to teach your kids about getting in the water is they must high-five an adult before getting in,” she said in a clip shared on Instagram. 

Jurcutz explained that yes, you can teach children to swim, but if they get into the water unsupervised they can still get into trouble. 

“This is why it is so important that they’re taught to high-five a trusted adult,” she added. 

She then filmed her three kids as they came out to the pool, each going up and giving her a high-five before entering the water – even her two-year-old. 

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In the caption of the post, she further explained why it was the first water safety skill her kids learnt. 

“In our house, no one enters the water without a hi five first 👋 It’s the very first water safety skill we teach and I will forever share this lesson. I recently put my kids to the test and they delivered!” she wrote. 

“I was a swim teacher before I became a paramedic and I’ve seen how quickly things can go wrong around water.

“I think about some of the jobs I’ve been to and how this could have made a little one hesitate, not enter the water and may have saved their life. Even strong little swimmers can end up in danger if they’re not being watched.”

She said it’s a simple way of letting adults know that when they are the one high-fiving, there is an adult around to supervise and be ‘on watch’. 

“It also lets our kids know: An adult is now on watch. You’re not entering unnoticed. You’re safe because someone is fully present,” she continued. 

“It creates a pause, a handover, and an extra layer of protection that could make all the difference.”

She ended the post asking parents to please teach this skill to their kids and to start doing it. 

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The post has hit close to home with a lot of parents, several who shared scary experiences around the water with their little ones. 

Others praised her for sharing such a simple but effective tool that could help save lives. 

“Such a great strategy 👋! Especially if they manage to get inside a pool fence. That hesitation could save a life,” commented one follower. 

Another mum commented, “No high five no swim! Love it.”

“This is great, implementing this!” replied one mum. 

According to the National Drowning Report 2025, published by Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia, earlier this year, drowning rates are increasing. 

The report found 357 drowning deaths over the past 12 months, a 27 per cent increase on the 10-year average. 

Drowning deaths of children under five fell to 15 fatalities, 21 per cent below the 10-year average, and half in home swimming pools.

Despite the rates dropping, parents and adults need to constantly supervise young children around water.

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