Why You Should Never Buy Your Child a Blue Swimsuit, According to a Swim Instructor
It's about safety, not fashion.
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Summer vacation is right around the corner, which means so is pool season. And while the idea of a warm summer day spent by the pool sure does sound exciting, if you’re a parent, you know that vision comes with plenty of peril too. But, experts say, there is a way to keep your little ones just a little safer by the pool this season. It all comes down to picking the right color for their swimsuit.
Nikki Scarnati, a certified infant swimming resource instructor, recently took to her TikTok to warn parents not to buy their children one specific color of bathing suit.
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“This is why you do not put your children in blue bathing suits. Look at how difficult it is to see her under the water,” Scarnati said as she showed her daughter safely treading water next to her in a light blue suit. “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.”
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Scarnati also showed her daughter swimming in a well-lit area to show that even there, it was difficult to see her swimming as the suit is the “same color as our environment.”
The video has more than 6 million views to date. However, as Scarnati said over and over again in her videos, a bright suit is just one part of overall swim safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning remains the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4.
The CDC added that there are 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings each year, averaging 11 drowning deaths per day. But a bright suit can go a long way in an overall family swim plan. When asked by a commenter which swimsuit colors she’d recommend, Scarnati said, “Neon colors are best. If they’re not available, red, orange, fuchsia, or yellow.”
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