Urgent warning for parents over deadly pool mistake

A simple decision of what your child wears in a swimming pool could be the difference between life and death, parents are being warned.

A video uploaded to Instagram by Tiny Hearts Education – an organisation that educates parents on first aid and offers helpful and potentially life-saving tips – shows how some colours can be difficult to spot underwater.

In the clip, an aqua and white coloured swimsuit is thrown in a swimming pool, but as it reaches the bottom it begins to blend in with the pool tiles.

A light-coloured swimsuit becomes difficult to spot underwater, increasing the risk of drowning in young children. Source: Tiny Hearts Education

A black swimsuit was then thrown into the pool, and given the contrasts with the water and tiles, it is very easy to spot.

The video was meant to demonstrate how difficult it would be for a parent to spot a child if they were to drown in a pool, depending on the colour of their swimwear.

"Always put your little one in bright or contrasting colours that would be easy to find in an emergency," Tiny Hearts Education wrote in the caption of the Instagram post.

"It only takes 20 seconds to drown, little tips like this could save a life!"

It suggested parents dress their children in contrasting swimmers, instead of light colours which are hard to spot in the water. Source: Tiny Hearts Education

Several people in the comments of the video were shocked, saying they hadn't thought of dressing their children in a contrasting bathing suit.

However, other parents who knew about this potentially life-saving hack expressed their support for it in the comments.

"Light colours even shades of blue should not be allowed," one person said in the comments.

"Great post and a reminder to all parents! I always pick bright colours for my child," another person said.

CPR Kids, an organisation run by paediatric nurses who teach CPR and first aid, shared similar advice last year.

In the picture CPR Kids shared, a child was asked to swim to the bottom of the pool — however, it is near impossible to spot the child due to their swimmers which matched the bottom of the pool.

A child wearing blue swimwear can barely been seen at the bottom of the pool. Source: CPR Kids

“Make sure you dress the kids in bright and colourful swimwear so that they are easier to see at all times. Remember; drowning is silent, and every second counts,” the group said.

Online, parents shared their shock in reaction to the image.

“That is so scary! I couldn’t see the child at all,” one woman wrote.

“This makes me feel so sick,” another said.