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Why your child's swimsuit color is important for water safety

A water safety company tested to see which suits were most visible in different conditions.

HOUSTON — As the weather heats up, we hit the water looking for some relief. But it can be dangerous.

The CDC says that drowning is the second leading cause of death in kids ages 1-4. 

Some of the best ways to keep kids safe include swimming lessons at an early age and an adult constantly watching them in the water.

That means no distractions like checking your phone or running to grab a snack.

According to the experts drownings can happen quickly and sometimes in a matter of seconds.

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One company that specializes in water safety took it a step further by testing if the color of a swimsuit could increase safety.

ALIVE Solutions wanted to see if the color of the swimsuit could make it easer to spot children who had gone under.

Probably not a real surprise, but neon colors performed best in pools and lakes.

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In lakes and dark-bottomed pools, neon orange, green and yellow were the most visible.

In light-bottomed pools, neon pink and orange worked best.

While the color of the suit can be another layer of security, it is not effective if other safety measures aren’t used.

A former Coast Guard rescue swimmer told the Huffington Post that relying on a bright swimsuit is not as good as making sure they don’t end up on the bottom of the pool in the first place.

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