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When choosing your child’s bathing suit this summer, aside from how it fits and the cute factor, there’s something else to consider - the color. It turns out, the shade of the swimsuit can be important to water safety, because some colors are easier to spot in the water than others. And since the CDC reports that drowning is the second leading cause of death for kids ages one to four, it’s especially important for young kids.
Alive Solutions, a company specializing in water safety, did some research to test how visible different colored swimsuits are in different pools and lakes. “We do drowning investigations and know that visibility is important in drowning recognition,” explains Natalie Livingston, co-founder of Alive Solutions. “As lifeguards and aquatics professionals, we know that there are certain factors that can make someone easier or more challenging to see in the water.”
Their testing reveals:
- Neon colors that provide contrast performed best in both pools and lakes.
- In light-bottomed pools, neon pink and neon orange stood out most. Dark colors like purple and black could be seen well, but aren’t recommended because they could be mistaken for leaves or a shadow.
- Light blue and white swimsuits stood out the least in light-bottomed pools.
- For lakes and dark-bottom pools, neon orange, neon green and neon yellow were most visible. White was visible, but could be mistaken for light reflection on the water’s surface, so it’s not recommended.
- And in lakes, visibility went down to zero at a depth of just two feet.
- But experts caution that the color of your kid’s swimsuit doesn’t matter much if other water safety measures aren’t being taken.
Source: Huff Post