When most parents buy new swimsuits for their kids, they're mostly looking at comfort and — let's face it — style. But one swim instructor is currently going viral on TikTok for explaining the very simple reason why parents should also take one more thing into consideration when buying a new bathing suit for their child: the color.
Nikki Scarnati is a certified infant swimming resource instructor in Spring Hill, Florida
She's also a mom who knows firsthand just how important it is to keep kids (and parents) feeling safe and secure when they're in water.
That's why her recent TikTok shares a well-known fact within the child safety world that's not always common knowledge among parents: When buying a swimsuit for your child, avoid the color blue.
It's not that the swimsuit can't have any blue in it at all
But the objective is to make sure it isn't a solid blue color that blends in with the pool water and liner.
@springhill.isr Just dont do it! Why think about which bathing suits for the splash pad? Just buy bright ones!! ☀️☀️ #selfrescue #selfrescueswimming #selfrescueswim #watersafety #drowningpreventionawareness #springhillisd ♬ original sound – Spring Hill ISR Nikki Scarnati
"This is why you do not put your children in blue bathing suits," Scarnati says, while filming her own toddler-aged daughter in a swimming pool. "Look how difficult it is to see her under the water — and this is in calm water."
In the video, Scarnati's daughter is wearing a light blue one-piece
Scarnati notes that she doesn’t usually let her child wear something like this in the pool, but bought the suit on clearance for the purpose of demonstrating why the color blue is so important to avoid.
As her mother films, the little girl makes her way across the pool, sometimes struggling to keep her head above water as she swims. At the same time, it's impossible not to see how the suit mostly blends in with the background.
And, according to Scarnati, this is not even a typical situation, where her daughter might be swimming with a bunch of other kids who are playing and splashing around and having a good time. In that scenario, it might be even harder to spot your child.
"Even look in the sunlight," Scarnati continues. "Look how difficult it is to see her with that bathing suit on, because it's the same color as our environment."
By the end of the video, Scarnati's message is crystal clear
"Do not buy blue bathing suits guys!" she reiterates. "Do not buy blue bathing suits."
Over the past few weeks, the video has circulated on TikTok, where it's racked up more than 6 million views. In the comments, parents continue to share their shock and surprise over the fact that they'd never heard about this before.
"I would’ve never thought of this," said one commenter. "Thank you!"
"Wow!" said another, who also admitted that it never crossed their mind. "Good info."
Other parents said they've known about this rule for quite a while
"Only bright orange and pink for us," one mom shared.
"We use blue bathing suits for sprinkler time, bright colors for the pool!" said another.
"This is exactly what I told my husband!" another mom shared. "I try to go for bright swim trunks for my sons."
There were even some fellow swim safety experts who chimed in to agree.
"I’m a former lifeguard and this is absolutely right!" wrote one TikToker. "Any shade of blue is difficult to see, and so is any pastel light color in general."
"I teach swim lessons," added someone else. "Proper colored suits are one of the things I require."
But perhaps the most impactful comment of all came from a mother who knows firsthand how important safety rules like this one can be for survival.
"As a bereaved mother to a son who drowned, thank you," the mother shared.
