This article was first published in February 2021.
With temperatures reaching record heights around New Zealand this summer, many Kiwi kids have been cooling off in swimming pools at home, school or at a public swimming centre.
But one terrifying photo has proven how vital it is for children to wear brightly coloured swimwear, revealing they can be almost impossible to spot when wearing blue.
The image, uploaded to Australian Facebook group CPR Kids, shows a backyard swimming pool that upon first glance appears to be empty.
But on closer inspection, a faint shadow can be seen on the right side.
According to the group of registered nurses behind the Facebook group, that shadow is actually a boy swimming at the bottom of the pool, weathering blue togs almost the exact shade of the pool's paint.
After hours of pool use and sunblock clouding the water, he appears almost invisible.
The image racked up hundreds of comments and shares with parents shocked at how quickly a child can disappear, even in a family's swimming pool.
"That is so scary! I couldn't see the child at all," one woman wrote.
"Oh my god, how terrifying," wrote another.
"This makes me feel sick," added another.
Others vowed to dress their children only in fluorescent coloured swimwear going forward.
Nurse and director of CPR Kids Sarah Hunstead told Daily Mail Australia it is imperative that parents 'actively supervise' their children whenever they are poolside this summer.
"When it comes to supervision, you always need to remember that even though there may be lots of people around, they're not necessarily looking at the kids," Hunstead said.
"The 'active' is what's important. That means you're not reading, you're not on your phone, you're not chatting to anyone else."
