We found some interesting information about swimsuits, children and safety.
Alive Solutions, which is a company who specializes in aquatic safety, risk assessment and training, gathered 14 swimsuits in a variety of colors to test how visible these suits were in the water. They first tested the suits in a pool, then a lake. The suits start slightly submerged and are then continually lowered below the surface. To the right are pictures of the results. These test results concluded that bright, neon-colored suits including bright yellow, green, and orange can be critical components in finding a child that is drowning. Other colors such as blue, white, tan, and green nearly disappeared once fully submerged.
Child Drowning Facts:
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four, and the second leading cause of death for children ages five to fourteen, right behind unintentional injury death after motor vehicle accidents. There are many situations that can result in a child drowning, such as not being able to swim, no access to life jackets, lack of supervision, lack of or ineffective fencing and lack of visibility into the water. Luckily, there are many ways to prevent this and choosing the right colors for children’s swimsuits is paramount.
Some prevention and safety basics for safety concerning children and water activities this summer:
- Dress child in bright and contrasting colored swimsuits when swimming
- Give undivided attention to child in or near water
- Teach children how to swim or float
- Provide life jackets
- Use the buddy system
