As summer draws families to pools, lakes, and beaches, one Florida mother is using her platform to deliver a potentially life-saving message: the color of your child’s swimsuit can make a critical difference in their safety.

Nikki Scarnati, a 32-year-old swim instructor and mother of two from Spring Hill, Florida, recently went viral on TikTok for a demonstration that has made parents around the world reconsider their swimsuit choices. In the clip, her two-year-old daughter Claire floats in a calm backyard pool wearing a light blue bathing suit. At first glance, Claire all but disappears into the water — her swimsuit blending perfectly with the shimmering blue background.

“Look how difficult it is to see her under the water — and this is in calm water,” Scarnati says in the video. “This is not with a whole bunch of other kids playing, splashing around, and having a good time. Even in the sunlight, it’s hard to see her because the color matches the environment.”

Scarnati explained that the light-blue swimsuit she used for the demonstration was something she bought on clearance specifically for this purpose — not for her daughter’s regular use. The lesson, she says, is one she learned long ago 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,” Scarnati told Good Morning America. “But as I got into teaching and working with young students, I realized it wasn’t as widely known as I thought it was.”

In her experience, blue swimsuits — one of the most common colors sold for children — are among the hardest to spot in both pools and open water. That frustrates water safety professionals, who have long known that a swimsuit’s visibility can directly impact how quickly a struggling swimmer is noticed.

Adam Katchmarchi, executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, says the advice is simple but powerful: choose bright, high-contrast colors. “After someone experiences a drowning incident, they can submerge below the water. Whether in a pool or a natural body of water, it can distort what we’re able to see from the surface,” he explained. “Wearing bright colors — no matter your age — is a smart safety step.”

Experts recommend neon yellow, orange, or hot pink swimsuits, which stand out against both the blue of chlorinated pools and the murky green of lakes or oceans. This visual advantage can mean the difference between a quick rescue and a tragedy.

But color is just one part of the equation. Katchmarchi stresses that nothing replaces active, constant supervision. “Part of the supervision element is making sure you can actively supervise your child anytime they’re in or around water,” he said. “A bright swimsuit just makes that task easier.”

The statistics are sobering. According to 2024 CDC data, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under four and the second-leading cause for those aged five to twelve. Scarnati hopes her video — which has garnered over 6.5 million views and nearly half a million likes — will help bring those numbers down.

“At the end of the day, if I can give as many tips as possible to parents to help them make better decisions and maybe lower drowning statistics even a little bit, then I’ve done my job,” she said.

Her message is clear: when it comes to your child’s safety in the water, every detail matters — even the color of their swimsuit. And while bright colors won’t replace supervision, they might just help you spot the unthinkable before it’s too late.