This summer is really hot! Summer vacation has also begun one after another across the country, and it is time to swim and play in the water again. Today we would like to share this article about "choosing a swimsuit" with you again.
In the past, I only cared about the material and style, only to see if the child was comfortable to wear, whether it looked good or not, and I never thought about the choice of swimsuit and swimgear color, which is also to pay attention to!
I really recommend that you read this article before going swimming!
Summer means more time for children to spend in and around the water: at this time of year, the pools and the seaside start to be crowded.
As temperatures rise, improving water security is essential for everyone, especially families with young children. According to the 2018 Atlas of China's Child Development Indicators, drowning has become the leading cause of injury and death among children aged 0-17 in mainland China, accounting for 32.5% of child injury deaths.
In addition to preventing drowning (see below), consider the color of your swimsuit when swimming with your kids this summer.
Every time I choose a swimsuit for my child, I want to choose something that catches my eye. Because in an open outdoor space, I want my child to be spotted at a glance.
If you can't buy bright colors, you need to wear eye-catching swimming gear. At the water's edge, you can't lose a look!
I remember when we went on holiday to Queensland last summer, in a seaside pool, Niuniu was jumped by a lifeguard in one afternoon and "saved" twice, and finally was driven to the shallow water. Although it was a misunderstanding, Niuniu didn't actually drown, but she would rather be rescued by mistake than be ignored.
The longest time I've seen an interesting study that confirmed my idea – when thinking about your child's water safety, consider the color of your swimsuit!
An informal study conducted in 2020 by a company that works on water safety, where they tested the visibility of swimsuits of different colors in shallow-bottomed pools, deep-bottom pools, and lakes.
For the pool, they recorded what the swimsuit looked like underwater (upper row) from the perspective of a person standing on the pool deck, then stirred the water on the surface of the pool and recorded it again (lower row).
▲Observations in a shallow-bottomed pool
▲Observation results in a deep-bottomed pool
For the lake, the company tested different swimsuit colors on the surface (top row), coastal view (middle row), and elevated view (bottom row) where the lifeguard was located to simulate what a parent/lifeguard would see when standing. The test waters were less than half a meter deep (0.45 meters).
For lifeguards, visibility is important for the identification of drowning.
A lot of people are opting for super cute and stylish swimsuits, but certain colors of swimsuits are like disappearing in the water.
Fluorescent colors that contrast well with the background color of the pool perform best in pools and lakes.
For shallow bottom pools, phosphors and orange stand out the most, while white and light blue sets stand out the least. Dark colors like purple and black can be seen well, but they are not recommended outdoors as they can be mistaken for dirt, leaves, or shade.
For lakes and deep-bottom pools, fluorescent orange, fluorescent green, and fluorescent yellow are the most noticeable. But! Note that phosphors don't perform well in lake views. White can be seen in outdoor lake environments, but it can be easily confused with light reflections on the water surface, so it is not recommended.
Finding a child in a crowded water can be challenging because it's not as clear as seeing through the air. generally
Fluorescent colors are more striking in water;
Avoid white and blue!
It is also worth noting that in the lake environment, at a depth of 0.45 meters, visibility for all tested colors drops to almost zero. It's also a reminder that it's important to wear a life jacket when playing in an open water environment! Because the life jacket is not only anti-sinking, but also leaves people on the water to be seen.
Children aged 5 and under should also wear a life jacket in the pool if they do not have "touch supervision" within an adult's arm's length. In other words, children under the age of 5 should always be within the "arm" of their caregiver if they are not wearing a life jacket.
If no other safety measures are taken, the color of your child's swimsuit doesn't matter.
That said, if the color of the swimsuit is useful, then drowning may have already happened. It's nice to be able to easily spot a drowning child, but it's far less important than not letting them out of your sight in the first place, not letting them sink into the water!
What can I do to help keep my child safer?
Safety Rule 1: Swimming lessons
A child in a light blue swimsuit, who has taken swimming lessons and swam in a guarded pool, is an order of magnitude safer than a child in a striking fluorescent yellow swimsuit who has not taken swimming lessons.
In fact, letting children learn to swim from an early age can greatly reduce their risk of drowning. Adults should also make sure that they have a good understanding of their child's swimming ability and their own swimming skills.
At what age can a child learn to swim?
The American Academy of Pediatrics once recommended that children should not participate in formal swimming lessons until the age of 4 because they are not physically and mentally ready at that stage.
But in 2020, the American Academy of Pediatrics brought the age standard to 1 year old in 2020 — recommending that all children over 1 year old take swimming lessons. The swimming lessons referred to here are not only for children to master some basic swimming skills, but also for water safety awareness.
We can understand it this way, that is, learning to swim at the age of 1-4 is mainly for the purpose of safety, and the age above 4 years old is the age to formally learn swimming skills.
In my own experience, learning to swim requires both physical and mental preparation. The physical coordination of children over the age of four makes it easier for them to master the art of ventilation. On the other hand, it is also important to be mentally prepared, and it is necessary for the child to have a pleasant experience and not be afraid of water.
When a girl is one year old, she is afraid of water and can't do without her mother; When he was two years old, he was occasionally able to play happily in the water, and occasionally he was afraid when he was not in a good state; When he was three years old, he had to swim every day, and he began to dare to play diving; At the age of four, I already have some swimming skills (wearing arm rings, my body can balance in the water, and my breaststroke movements are relatively coordinated), and I think it is just right to learn to swim and breathe at this time.
Because of the demonstration of his sister, he soaked in the pool every day in the summer of his three-year-old (three hours for his sister and almost one hour for wine), and slowly overcame his fear of water, threw away his arm rings, and was able to swim.
I tend to take it one step at a time, so that my child can enjoy playing in the water and swimming, and learn to swim gradually.
Every child is different, and when to learn to swim should also be decided by taking into account factors such as the likelihood of the child being exposed to water, physical condition and psychological condition.
But as the American Academy of Pediatrics points out,