Experts note that the shade of a child's swimwear may impact their safety at the pool.

Experts warn that the color of your child's swimsuit may impact their safety while swimming.

"A child's swimsuit color can greatly affect their visibility in the water, a crucial factor in preventing drownings. Bright and contrasting colors are more noticeable against the water, making it simpler for lifeguards and parents to locate a child quickly, even in emergency situations," says Bernard Fisher, director of health and safety for the American Lifeguard Association, via email.

"You should avoid swimsuits in light blue, gray, or green as they can resemble the water and pool surroundings, making it challenging to identify a child. Instead, opt for vibrant and contrasting colors such as neon yellow, orange, pink, and vivid red," Fisher suggests. "These hues are easily visible both under the surface and at the top."

Swimsuit colors rarely come up in dialogue about public safety, according to Wyatt Werneth, a coastal lifeguard in Florida and spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association.

"The bright attire is a significant development. If your clothing hue matches the water or environment, you'll blend in," Werneth asserts while patrolling Cocoa Beach.

"We take this into consideration with missing persons as well. Not only does having bright clothing help us locate them in a pool environment or on the beach, but it's crucial lifeguards find them. If a child is wearing a vibrant hue and you've seen images of them before, we'll know what to look for. Therefore, you can assist us – not only can we prevent drowning, but we can also prevent missing individuals," he adds.

Swimsuit Color Research

A company called Alive Solutions, which specializes in water safety research, discovered in two separate studies that certain swimsuit colors are more visible in a swimming pool or lake.

In their experiments, the company's water safety specialists submerged swimsuits of various colors in pools and lakes to examine how visible they might be. The tests were not published in a scholarly journal but conducted independently.

"In our primary test, we examined 14 different colors," Natalie Livingston, co-founder and owner of Alive Solutions, explained through an email.

"Water is different from observing through air. The slightest movement, glare, or surface disturbance in the water can make objects and individuals blend, making visibility in water dependent on the color of the clothing or swimsuit," she noted.

Livingston, a lifeguard for over 25 years, recalls watching her children at the pool one day with other parents and realizing that some children wearing dark- or pastel-colored swimsuits seemed to vanish in the water. She and her colleagues later decided to conduct these tests from 2019 to last year.

In a swimming pool with a light-colored bottom, the company's tests revealed that neon pink and neon orange appeared to be the most visible. Darker colors were visible against the light pool bottom but could easily be mistaken for shadows, leaves, or dirt. White and light blue swimsuits were not as noticeable and seemed to disappear entirely in the pool.

"Light colors or blues often appear like glare spots or cloud reflections, or blend in with the setting," Livingston shared through the email.

In eighteen inches of lake water, the tests showed that bright neon hues – including neon orange, yellow, and green – were the most visible against the lake's bottom, but neon pink did not preform as well. White swimsuits were more noticeable due to the reflection of light, but not as much as the bright neon colors. All other colors were not very noticeable.

Overall, Livingston concluded, neons were the most visible in all settings.

"Many parents have told us their child's bright swimsuit caught their eye and averted a drowning incident," Livingston said. "Of course, a swimsuit's hue doesn't matter if there's no effective supervision, but it can and does aid in complementing supervision and other layers of water safety prevention," she concluded.

Multifaceted Layers of Water Safety

While it indeed makes sense that vibrant swimsuit colors can increase a child's visibility in the water in case of an emergency, there's no "real-world evidence" that having a child in a neon swimsuit guarantees a better outcome in a drowning event, says Dr. Maneesha Agarwal, an associate professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.

"The aim is not to have to rely on your child's swimsuit color to find them in a drowning event at all," Agarwal points out, stressing that appropriate water safety entails multiple layers of protection.

"Additional essential components include ensuring your child is water-competent – meaning they've received swimming lessons. Providing adequate supervision is also crucial, which involves parents or a designated adult constantly monitoring a child around water. It's critical to be aware of warning signs of drowning," she advises.

Contrary to popular depictions in movies, where drowning features loud splashes and frantic cries for aid, real-life drowning incidents happen silently and rapidly, as per Agarwal.

By observing a child drowning, you might notice their face frantically surfacing and disappearing underwater, not screaming for help. The process of drowning can be completed within a minute to a minute and a half.

To ensure your child's safety from an aquatic mishap, Agarwal advises setting up four-sided pool fences to restrict their access to the pool. Additionally, if tragedy strikes, one must be well-versed in CPR and have immediate access to emergency line 911. If in proximity to open water bodies, life jackets are essential.

According to recent statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation is witnessing an increase in unintentional drowning cases, with an estimated 4,500 people losing their lives annually between 2020 and 2022. This surge in drowning fatalities contrasts with the previous year where approximately 4,000 deaths occurred during 2019. It's particularly concerning for young children, as they form the top risk group, with drowning being the major cause of death for kids aged 1-4 in the country.

However, Kristen DeJong, the founder and president of Big Blue Swim School - a swim lessons provider, states that participating in structured swimming classes can reduce drowning risks by 88% in children.

Besides donning bright-colored swimsuits, DeJong highlights a few other methods to enhance safety around swimming pools. The American Academy of Pediatrics endorses swim lessons as a means to shield against drowning, with many children viable candidates for swimming lessons by the age of 1.

Emphasizing the pivotal role swim lessons can play, DeJong stressed, "Swim lessons are the most substantial tool to empower kids to save themselves and comprehend what to do in crisis situations." He also cautions about the heightened risks for younger children in private pools and older children near natural water bodies.