While a well-maintained pool fence in combination with active adult supervision is the most effective method for preventing children from drowning in backyard swimming pools, additional safety can be achieved through the use of pool safety devices.

Pool safety devices are products that can be used to reduce the risk of drowning. They can be used to restrict a child’s access to water, to alert parents when gates are opened, to sound an alarm when the child gets wet, or keep children afloat if they fall in. They include gate alarms, pool alarms, motion detectors, wrist bands, pool covers, gate locks and lifejackets.

Pool safety devices do not replace the need for active adult supervision and pool fencing. They can give you an additional layer of safety in conjunction with active adult supervision and a correctly installed and regularly maintained pool fence and gate.

Although these devices help to restrict access to water, sound an alarm when the barrier is breached, or keep a child afloat when in the water, they have some limitations which should be considered before purchase:

• They need to be maintained and batteries will need to be replaced from time to time
• User error whereby users forget to turn the device on
• The device only sounds an alarm for a limited time (eg, only when gate is open)
• They can be set off by non-human elements (eg, animals, debris, weather)
• They need to be placed on the child for them to be effective
• They need to be reset/replaced after use, and take time time to set-up and take down
• They require space for installation and storage when not in use
• They need to work with a range of different aged pool users
• Problems with the alarm going off when adults not around
• Knowing where the child is when the alarm sounds and distance from receiver to alarm