As families head to pools and beaches this summer, a Florida mother is sounding the alarm about the color of your child’s swimsuit, warning that it could make them vanish from sight when every second counts.
Nikki Scarnati, a 32-year-old mom of two and swim instructor from Spring Hill, Florida, took to TikTok to show parents exactly why blue swimsuits can make children almost invisible in the water.
In the now-viral video, her 2-year-old daughter Claire is shown treading water in a calm backyard pool while wearing a light blue swimsuit – and the effect is chilling.
“Look how difficult it is to see her under the water – and this is in calm water,” Scarnati said of the child, who’s wearing a blue swimsuit that she bought “on clearance” only to use for her demonstration.
“This is not with a whole bunch of other kids playing, splashing around and having a good time. Even look in the sunlight, look how difficult it is to see her with that bathing suit on [because] it’s the same color as our environment. So, do not buy a blue bathing suit, guys,” she warns.
Lifelong safety lesson
The Florida native, who has taught swimming to children aged six months to six years, says it’s a tip she learned from her own mother.
“My mom had three kids, so she wanted us to be easiest to spot because we were always in different places at one time. But as I’ve gotten into the teaching role and working with students, I discovered it wasn’t as widely known as I thought it was,” she told Good Morning America, per ABC. “I didn’t realize until I started teaching that this wasn’t widely known.”
She added that blue is one of the most common colors available for children’s swimwear, a fact she says frustrates water safety professionals.
“In the industry, it’s kind of widely known that blue bathing suits are problematic in pools and open water. So, it was just one of the many things that I could help educate parents on, that would be applicable to really everyone,” she said.
“Blues are very common in bathing suit color, and I think that [fuels] the frustration for a lot of professionals that work with children, especially in a pool setting,” she added in the clip.
Bright colors save lives
Adam Katchmarchi, executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, told ABC that wearing bright, high-contrast colors is a simple but powerful safety measure for swimmers of all ages.
“After someone does experience a drowning incident, they can submerge below the water and whether that’s in a pool or in a natural body of water, that can really distort what we’re able to see surface level, to even see that there may be a situation we need to respond to,” Katchmarchi said. “So, wearing bright colors, no matter what the age, is really a good safety recommendation.”
Experts recommend neon yellows, oranges, and pinks – shades that “stand out” sharply against both the blue of swimming pools and the murky green of lakes or oceans.
“Part of the supervision element is…making sure that you can actively supervise your child anytime they’re around or in the water,” he said. “And one of those ways is to make sure that they have a bright colored swimsuit.”
Leading cause of death
Scarnati’s said she hopes her TikTok post, which has so far racked up more than 6.5 million views and nearly half a million likes, can prevent future drowning deaths.
“At the end of the day, drowning is the number one cause of death in children under four and the second in children five to 12,” Scarnati said, quoting 2024 research from the CDC on drowning deaths.
“So, if I can give as many tips as possible to parents to help them make better decisions, just to help drowning statistics lower a little bit, then I’ve done my job,” she said.
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