With the weather getting warmer (finally!) and parents booking up summer holidays, a swim instructor has shared an important warning about why the colour of your child’s swimsuit or swim shorts really matters.
Nikki Scarnati (@springhill.isr) took to TikTok to explain why parents should steer clear of buying blue bathing suits for their kids.
She shared a video of her daughter swimming in a pool with a blue swimsuit on which, the instructor explained, she’d purchased especially for the demonstration.
“Look how difficult it is to see her under the water,” said Scarnati in the video which has been viewed more than 4.3 million times.
“And this is in calm water. This is not with a whole bunch of other kids playing and splashing around and having a good time.”
She continued: “Even look in the sunlight. Look how difficult it is to see her with that bathing suit on, because it’s the same colour as our environment. So do not buy a blue bathing suit, guys.”
A former lifeguard commented on the video that the advice is “absolutely right”.
They added: “Any shade of blue is difficult to see, and so is any pastel light colour in general.”
Another lifeguard chipped in: “It definitely helps having them in bright colours, especially if the pool is busy.”
A property manager who works with pool companies went one step further and suggested blue, purple or dark colour swimsuits are no good as they look like shadows. “Bright colours only,” they advised.
When a parent asked the instructor if dark blue swimsuits are OK, Scarnati replied: “Studies have shown neon is best, but red, orange and yellow are also safe.”
Lots of parents – and even non-parents – were genuinely grateful for the advice, with plenty admitting it’s something they would never have thought about.
Some even revealed they’d recently bought blue swimsuits, which they will no longer use.
“I didn’t realise this til now,” said one parent. “Thanks for this video. I’m gonna get a yellow or neon green one for my kid.”
One parent even revealed how a neon swimsuit saved their child’s life: “Fluorescent colours saved my son’s life. He dove in murky waters and I could only see a little patch of green and grabbed him.”
So next time you go to buy a child’s swimsuit, remember: neon, red, orange or yellow work best.