High Visibility Swimsuits As A Drowning Prevention Strategy
When you think about water safety and drowning prevention, children’s swimsuits aren’t typically the first thing that comes to mind. I never thought much about it either, until Alive Solutions Inc released their swimsuit color testing in 2019. The test revealed how dangerous some bathing suit colors can be. Certain colors like black, white and gray may appear to be shadows while blue can practically look invisible underwater.
I had a newborn baby girl and two young boys at the time. I was floored by the reality that the majority of boys swimsuits offered in big box stores were often blue, black or green while many girls’ swimsuits available were offered in pastels. As a mom, swim instructor and water safety advocate, I was altered by the new information I had learned.
My History as a Lifeguard
Seeing the Alive Solutions color test was an epiphany for me. As a teenager, I was a lifeguard at my local community pool each summer. I loved my job, but I was also terrified at the prospect of missing a rescue. There were many times that I would squint and strain my eyes looking into the deep end of the dive tank. I would hold my breath until I could figure out if I was looking at a person or a shadow. I could finally breathe when the person surfaced safely. Seeing the color test results connected the dots on something I couldn’t figure out back then- how swimsuit visibility made my job easier or more challenging.
Clear Results on Safe Colors
High contrast colors are more visible underwater than the common camouflaging swimsuits you see in store.
Bold, visible colors that help swimmers stand out are:
- Hot pink
- Orange
- Yellow
- Neon green
Newfound Knowledge
As you can imagine, I took what I learned from Alive Solutions and went straight to the store in search of brightly colored swimsuits for my sons. I was ready to make the change to help them stay visible for any water watchers and lifeguards. Unfortunately, the stores had not gotten the memo about the importance of high visibility swimsuits for children. Year after year, I waited for my local stores to catch on, but they never did.
Change Makers
Our family grew tired of waiting on someone else to create the change we wished to see in the children’s swimsuit industry. We decided to take things into our own hands and create high visibility swimsuits that would solve this problem not just for our own children, but for other families out there looking for a similar solution. We worked directly with our children to create playful, simple swimsuits that would make kids stand out in the pool.
Making Supervision Easier
The National Drowning Prevention Alliance has been teaching us about the 5 Layers of Protection for many years.. These include barriers and alarms, supervision, water competency, life jackets and emergency preparation. We know these should be used together because you never know which layer may save a life.
While a child wearing a high visibility swimsuit is not going to prevent drowning on its own, it makes supervision in and around the pool or body of water so much easier. Brightly colored swimsuits give lifeguards and water watchers precious life-saving seconds to recognize a child in distress as opposed to waiting and wondering if it’s a shadow on the water. By prioritizing and choosing bright swimsuits for children, we can make the shared responsibility of water safety more visible for all.
Sydnei Kelly
Founder, Bright & Bold Swim, NDPA Member
916-595-0925
brightandboldswim@gmail.com
