Door Alarms and Locks: Stop Toddlers From Slipping Outside Unnoticed

To stop a toddler from slipping outside to water, lock every door and window that leads toward water with a latch they can't reach, and add a door alarm that sounds the moment a door opens. Then make closing and locking those doors a habit for everyone in the house.

Exits matter because young children rarely go to water when adults expect it. They go when they find a door open.

Why exits matter for drowning prevention

46%

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes how young children reached pools in that study: they slipped out a door, climbed out a window, or even crawled through a doggy door (opens in a new tab). Read more about these moments in drowning when nobody is swimming.

The AAP's first step is simple: use safety gates, door locks or doorknob covers to prevent your toddler from going outside (opens in a new tab). Its pool guidance adds that house doors should be locked if a child could get to the pool through them (opens in a new tab).

Locks and latches a toddler can't reach

Toddlers learn to turn knobs, push chairs and open sliding doors quickly. Put the lock where they can't get to it.

• Exterior doors. Add a latch or lock high up, out of a child's reach. The Red Cross recommends door alarms and locks that are out of the reach of a child on all doors and windows with direct access to the pool or spa area (opens in a new tab).
• Sliding doors. Use a second lock or bar at adult height, and keep the screen door closed too.
• Self-closing doors. CPSC's barrier guidelines say doors that lead to a pool should have self-closing and self-latching devices or locks that are beyond the reach of children (opens in a new tab).
• Doorknob covers and safety gates. Inside the house, these keep a toddler away from the doors that lead out, and out of the bathroom.
• Windows. The AAP says window guards can be especially helpful for windows on the house that face the pool (opens in a new tab). Keep furniture away from windows so they're harder to climb.

Door and window alarms

An alarm tells you a door opened, even when you're in another room. The AAP lists door alarms (opens in a new tab) as an added protection, and says that if you have a home security system, make sure the door alert sound is turned on (opens in a new tab).

When the house forms one side of a pool barrier, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends an audible alarm on all doors that allow access to a swimming pool (opens in a new tab). Its guidelines describe what a good pool door alarm does:

The guidelines also say alarms should meet UL 2017, a safety standard for signaling devices. Look for that on the package. The AAP notes that door and gate alarms can have touchpads (opens in a new tab) so adults can pass through without setting them off.

Alarms are a backup, not a fence. For alarms on the pool itself, see pool alarms, gate alarms and wearable alarms.

Pet doors and other gaps

Pet doors are easy to forget. CPSC is clear: never have a pet or doggy door if the door leads directly to a pool or other backyard water (opens in a new tab). It warns that locking a pet door is not enough, and that an isolation fence around the pool is the best defense if you have one.

Check other routes too: a door through the garage, a gap in a side fence, or a basement door to the yard. If a toddler can fit through it, treat it as a door.

Visitors, deliveries and busy days

Doors get left open when routines change. Plan for:

• Guests. Ask visitors to close and lock the door behind them. Put a small sign on the inside of the door.
• Deliveries and workers. Keep children in another room or in your arms while the door is open.
• Older children. The AAP suggests teaching them to always close the door behind them so younger children don't follow them out (opens in a new tab).
• After swim time. CDC says to shut and lock doors that give access to water (opens in a new tab) when swimming is over.

Children who wander

Some children are more likely to wander or bolt, including many children with autism. In a 2012 survey of parents, 49% said their child with autism had tried to wander at least once after age 4 (opens in a new tab). For these families, alarms, high locks and a written plan are especially important. Our guide to wandering and water goes further.

What you can do today

1. Walk every exit. List each door, sliding door, window and pet door that leads toward water.
2. Add one high lock to the door your child uses most to get outside.
3. Turn on the door chime on your security system, or add a simple door alarm.
4. Check your pool barrier with the Pool barrier check, and the rest of the house with the Home water hazard audit.
5. Agree on "close and lock" as a family rule, and explain it to guests and sitters. Pair it with a room-by-room hazard check.