Can You Spot the Kid in This Photo of an ‘Empty’ Swimming Pool? A Chilling Warning to Parents About Swimwear

Can You Spot the Kid in This Photo of an ‘Empty’ Swimming Pool? A Chilling Warning to Parents About Swimwear
(Courtesy of CPR Kids)
Jenni Julander
3/5/2021
Updated:
7/18/2021
“What do you see underneath the water here?”, captioned CPR Kids in a frightening Facebook post that served as a warning to parents.

The safety organization, which strives to educate parents about how to respond in an emergency, shared the chilling image last month, showing what appears to be an empty swimming pool. The post, in fact, illustrates the danger of dressing children in a certain type of swimwear.

(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.cprkids.com.au/">CPR Kids</a>)
(Courtesy of CPR Kids)
“Take a good look,” they wrote. “Yes, there is a child in there.”

The hard-to-spot child, swimming in the depths of a swimming pool, was reportedly wearing blue, and blends in with the water almost perfectly. It’s a color parents should avoid buying for their kids.

The team at CPR Kids stressed the importance of dressing kids in fluorescent and bright-colored swimwear, instead. They said the photo was taken during a pool party with friends gathered, and someone noticed how well one child’s swimsuit blended in with the color of the pool.

“She asked one of the children who was wearing a pale blue swimsuit, to swim to the bottom,” CPR Kids wrote. “The result shocked her—as it did everyone in the CPR Kids team!”

(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.cprkids.com.au/">CPR Kids</a>)
(Courtesy of CPR Kids)

The result shocked social media users, too, with many of them commenting that even with the child’s location circled in red, they still couldn’t make out the shape of a human form under the surface.

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

Several parents commented that they now needed to buy new swimwear for their children.

CPR Kids added that the pool is normally clear. But by 2 p.m., it had become cloudy, perhaps because of sunscreen or other residues brought into the pool by so many bodies, or perhaps due to inadequate pool filtering.

Regardless of the cause, a cloudy pool could happen to anyone.

(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.cprkids.com.au/">CPR Kids</a>)
(Courtesy of CPR Kids)

One parent on the thread even pointed out that blue swimwear can blend in with a clear pool just as easily.

“My son had a bright blue Speedo sun shirt on that I didn’t think anything of,” one dad wrote. “He stepped backwards off the step and went under. Originally I thought he was under for only 3 secs but my cameras caught the whole thing and it was 26 secs! I can’t believe I was within arm’s reach of him and didn’t notice because of his blue swim shirt.”
The dad shared a photo illustrating how well his son had blended in with their pool.

As for CPR Kids, they assured viewers their image was not “edited in any way,” adding, “This is why the person who captured it thought [to share], as they couldn’t believe how hard it was to see their little one at the bottom.”

(Illustration - Oleg Mikhaylov/Shutterstock)
(Illustration - Oleg Mikhaylov/Shutterstock)
The CDC reports that drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in children ages 1 to 4.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, most child drownings actually happen under the supervision of both parents.

As swim season approaches, the kids safety organization hopes to increase parent awareness and prevent more child drownings.

Share your stories with us at [email protected], and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Jenni Julander is a writer based in the Rocky Mountains, where she received her writing education. She covers human interest and trending news for The Epoch Times.
Related Topics