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Why swim instructors are warning parents against certain swimsuit colors

The color of your child's swimsuit may help save them from drowning.
/ Source: TODAY

Temperatures across the country are heating up and families may be heading to the water to cool off, but water safety experts have an important tip about the color of your child's swimsuit.

While parents might choose swimwear for kids based on style or comfort, one new study suggests color is the most important factor.

In fact, it could make all the difference in preventing drowning.

Casey Ferri and her son, Jack
North Carolina mom Casey Ferri has made sure her son, Jack, is equipped with neon suits this summer.Courtesy Casey Ferri

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is one of the leading causes of death for people ages 1-24 globally with children under the age of 5 being at highest risk.

In a test study, ALIVE Solutions Inc., a company that specializes in aquatic safety, put swimsuit colors to the test to see their visibility in both pools and open water.

In pools, the top photo in each section is the fabric underwater, and the bottom photo is the fabric with surface agitation.

ALIVE Solutions Inc. recommends bright and contrasting colors when buying swimwear.
ALIVE Solutions Inc. recommends bright and contrasting colors when buying swimwear.Courtesy ALIVE Solutions Inc.

Color Test for Kids' Swimsuits

"Our bottom two colors are white and light blue (check out how they disappear) and our top choices would be neon pink and neon orange," ALIVE Solutions said in its post. "Although the darker colors show up on a light pool bottom they can often be dismissed for a pile of leaves, dirt, or a shadow so I tend to stay away from those colors when possible."

The same colors were then tested in 18 inches of lake water with low visibility when it was partly sunny.

ALIVE Solutions Inc. recommends bright and contrasting colors when buying swimwear.
ALIVE Solutions Inc. recommends bright and contrasting colors when buying swimwear.Courtesy ALIVE Solutions Inc.

"We placed each color on the surface (first row images), second row images were from shore level perspective, and third row are from a slightly elevated perspective — simulating standing on a boat/dock view," ALIVE Solutions shared.

The top colors for visibility were neon yellow, neon green and neon orange. "Think bright and contrasting," the post notes.

"Having a background as an aquatic operator and lifeguard I know that certain colors are easier to see than others and also how challenging water can be to see through," Natalie Livingston, co-founder of ALIVE Solutions, tells TODAY.com. "I started to notice this personally with what my kids wore in different water environments and wanted to test the colors in different conditions so we could increase visibility as much as possible."

Breanna Smith Powderly, a former lead lifeguard at Hershey Park, which sees more than 3 million visitors per year, agrees.

"Kids wearing bright, fluorescent colors are much easier to keep track of," she tells TODAY.com. "However, the lifeguard training that most water parks go through teaches the 10/20 rule — basically, 10 seconds to thoroughly scan your zone and 20 seconds to reach the person in distress — so even a child in those harder to see colors should be kept track of by a good lifeguard."

Even veteran parents said they found the results helpful.

"It’s definitely going to affect how I shop for my kids’ swimsuits in the future," Andrea Ament, a California mom of three, tells TODAY.com. “I won’t be shopping for the cutest designs anymore, but rather the safest colors.”