Don’t wear blue: Mom’s swim safety tip goes viral on TikTok. ‘Never thought of this’
When a child is in danger of drowning, every second matters — it’s a fact that mom and swim instructor Nikki Scarnati knows all too well.
Scarnati, who lives in Spring Hill, Florida, is a certified Infant Swimming Resource instructor, so her career is focused on keeping children safe in the water. She shared a critical swim safety tip on TikTok just in time for summer that has other parents checking their kids’ closets before a day at the pool.
It’s simple: Don’t wear blue swimsuits, Scarnati says. The harder it is to see your child in the water, the more chances there are of something going awry.
“Look how difficult it is to see her under the water — and this is in calm water, this is not with a whole bunch of other kids playing and splashing around and having a good time,” Scarnati says in her TikTok.
She films her young daughter swimming in a backyard pool in the shade, then in the sun to demonstrate how the light blue suit camouflages in with the water.
Scarnati tells parents to buy brightly colored swimsuits for children that make them easier to spot in the water.
“I’m a former lifeguard and this is absolutely right,” one viewer commented. “Any shade of blue is difficult to see, and so is any pastel light color in general.”
“As a bereaved mother to a son who drowned thank you,” another added.
“Would have never thought of this,” a third commented. “This new mom thanks you.”
Drowning is a leading cause of death for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More children ages 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death, and drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children from ages 5 to 14, the CDC says.
There are roughly 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings in the United States annually, an average of 11 per day, according to the CDC.
Adults should consider the following tips for water safety, according to Water Safety USA:
- Designate a water watcher when you are in, on, or around water.
- Watch all children and adolescents swimming or playing in or around water, even if they know how to swim.
- Young children or inexperienced swimmers need to be within arm’s reach of an adult at all times.
- Make sure a responsible person constantly watches young children in the bath.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Don’t wear blue: Mom’s swim safety tip goes viral on TikTok. ‘Never thought of this’."
