Rebecca Adlington, OBE, double Olympic gold medallist
I’ve swum my entire life and I’ve only recently become aware that there are certain colours that can’t be seen underwater. As a parent, I feel like I should have been aware of this sooner, which is why I’m hoping to raise awareness on Mumsnet via this post.
I am urging all parents to check the colour of their children’s swimwear before they go swimming or on holiday this summer. It could be putting them in danger.
Alongside the holiday company On the Beach, we conducted testing of some of the most popular colours of swimwear.
Blue, white and grey coloured swimwear is almost invisible underwater, meaning in the unthinkable situation that your child got into difficulty, they would be much harder to see.
Alongside On the Beach we’re doing a couple of key things and we would really appreciate your help as fellow parents.
- On The Beach has created a petition urging the government to make it illegal for clothing retailers to sell potentially dangerous blue, white and grey swimwear for children. Your signature helps make this more likely to become legislation.
- Check your own child’s swimwear and look to swap out unseeable solid blue, white or grey swimwear and if you’re able to, replace it with more visible colours such as pink, yellow, red, black, purple, green or any fluorescent shades. It really does make a big difference to how they’re seen in water.
It’s vital that we do the above to help make sure our children are visible in the water. According to new research, 90% of parents are not aware that certain swimwear colours cannot be seen underwater and the same number agree that there should be more awareness around what colours of swimwear can be seen underwater.
On the Beach is also giving away thousands of free brightly coloured children’s swimming shorts and swimming costumes, as well as giving customers £5 off their child’s next visit to the swimming baths.
I’m hoping this post raises awareness and that you’ll join the fight to ban these dangerous colours of swimwear. We know that two thirds (66%) of children wear blue, white or grey swimwear which is not visible underwater. We can’t be putting our children in unnecessary danger, so please check your children’s swimwear, change it where you can, and sign our petition to help make a difference.
Thank you!
Becky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onthebeachholidays/?locale=en_GB
Website: https://www.onthebeach.co.uk/swimwear-safety