The warning for parents of young children is simple, direct and clear: “Don’t buy blue bathing suits!” Nikki Scarnati, an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and self-rescue instructor posted the now-viral TikTok video warning.
Scarnati, the mother of a young girl, cautioned that the color of a bathing suit could be a lifesaving factor. Her video, which has garnered over 6.2 million views, noted that one-piece blue suits could make young children almost invisible in the water.
Scarnati, 32, told Fox News Digital, “As an instructor in the industry, it’s kind of widespread throughout our community that blue bathing suits are a no-no.”
Her ominous message noted that purchasing a blue bathing suit for a young child could be a fatal mistake. “When you’re wearing a blue bathing suit,” Scarnati said, “you tend to blend in with the aquatic environment.”
The ISR and self-rescue instructor clarified: “The way that the water reflects light, it comes off as if it has a blue hue. So, if you’re wearing a blue bathing suit, it may be harder to be spotted by a parent or a lifeguard.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4.
Scarnati made her point in the video by showing her daughter Claire, 2, swimming in a blue bathing suit. While wearing the suit in a public pool, Chair’s body was difficult to see.
Scarnati pointed out: “If she were to be deeper in the water, that would be much more problematic for a blue bathing suit. The deeper you are, the more difficult you are to see.”
Scarnati recommended parents buy bright-colored suits for their children:
“Neon colors also allow you to be seen [the easiest] in a crowd,” Scarnati said. “So, if you’re in a busy pool, it’s easier to spot a neon bathing suit than a neutral or blue-colored bathing suit.”
Ben Robert, senior coordinator for aquatics and safety education at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, agreed with Scarnati, saying that bright colors are better: “Anything bright, like a bright yellow or red. Reds are easy to see. So, somewhere in that spectrum.”
“The blue is harder to see in clear water,” Robert continued. “The way [the] eyes function, it tends to blend in. But if you’re in another body of water, like a river or lake, then greens would be an issue.”
Robert also advocates for safety fencing around private home pools.
“Ideally, it would be a fence with a gate that either has a latch that is higher than a child can reach or some type of enclosure where they have to have help to get access,” Robert said.
He warns against children wearing “water wings” or easy-to-slip-on inflatable safety resources because they can provide a false sense of security.
“They’re not connected,” Robert warned. “So if a child does have to go underwater, the first thing’s that’s going to happen is those are going to slip right off their arms.” Proper application and monitoring is the key to safety.
Robert added: They’re inexpensive, they look cute, and parents tend to buy those, but they’re not an approved safety device.”
Flotation devices should be Coast Guard approved, and children in pools (public and private) should be monitored, argued Roberts:
“Pool time is not just a free break time for mom or dad to sit on the deck and read a book. They need to be close to their child all the time. I’ve seen video coverage of a child being under the water for nine seconds and not surviving,” Robert asserted.
Scarnati warned that a child can drown in 20 seconds — an adult in 60.
Scarnati also encouraged parents to receive CPR and first aid training:
“All adults being certified in CPR and first aid covering infants, children and adults.”
The concerned mother and instructor added: “High-quality swim lessons that teach your child how to prioritize their air and their float. And also constant eyes — you want to make sure that there’s always a designated adult keeping an eye on the children at one time with no distractions.”
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