Child Safe Blinds for your Loved Ones

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Child Safe Blinds for your Loved Ones

Every child is naturally curious about every single thing they can touch and see around them. From the mirror on the wall to the beautiful window treatment they see every day. As parents and siblings, we all understand this and recognize the importance of keeping the child’s world as secure and safe as possible. This is the sole reasons every blinder in your home, or at least one that a child can access, need to be cordless or should at least come with a safety device in line with the latest regulations that govern children’s safety in regard to window treatment. Industries that manufacture window treatment usually use warning tags, labels and other methods to communicate with caregivers the potential hazards of corded window blinds. One of the major messages revolves around how cords can be a potential strangulation hazard and parents are advised to choose cordless or inaccessible-cord alternatives in blinds.  From cordless and motorized operating systems, cord tensioners, retractable lift cords and wand controls, you can find a wide array of operating system options that will enhance your child’s safety.

Child Safety Regulations around Blinds

Here are some of the tips on how you can prevent your child from accessing the cords on the window blinds.

  • All furniture including cribs and beds or anything that a child can climb on should all be moved away from the windows.
  • Only cordless window blinds and treatment should be installed in any home that has small children.
  • All window covering cords should be kept up to make sure they are out of reach of children. If possible, tuck the cord up around the top of the blinds.
  • All cord should be kept as short as they can possible be and any continuous loop pull cords like those found on vertical blinds and cellular shaded ought to be fixed either on the floor or the wall.
  • Install cord stops to limit the movement of cords between blind slats and also adjust them to ensure limited movement. This hazard, according to studies, is one that most people are not yet aware of.

Parents should however be aware that a child could pull a loose inner-cord on window blinds out enough just to get their head fitted between them and get hurt. So many children have fallen victim to strangulation by window covering cords. This is an accident that can be easily prevented and should be a number one safety concern among parents. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission even has listed corded window treatment among the top five hidden hazards in American homes because children and infants are prone to accidentally being entangled in them. The most hazardous parts of the blinds however are looped cords and chains, pull cords, lifting loops for roll-up blinds and inner cords.

Another study was published by the National Safety Council highlighting the problem associated with window treatment cords. From 1990 all through 2015, data from 26 years was analyzed and it was found that approximately 17,000 children six years and below were admitted in the emergency sections of hospitals in the U.S from injuries related to window blinds. This averages to approximately two children per year. In every month, one child out of the majority treatment of these injuries died as a result of strangulation with the exclusion of children who did not make it to the ER.

Cordless Blind Designs

For a child’s room, consider selecting blinds that have designs that do not feature cords or chains. There are a lot of different options to choose from and it all depends on the type of window and the choice of f window treatment as listed below.

  • Tab Pleated, Day and Night Transition and Trilite blinds can be fitted in a traditional way and operated using a thumb tab with no cords. You can also position these blinds anywhere on the windows to give the ultimate light control and ensure children cannot reach them.
  • Top Down Bottom Up Shades are a great option as they have hidden cords and allow you to raise the blinds from the bottom as well as the top giving your room a great look.
  • PerfectFit frames are another option that clicks into place between the glass and beading of an uPVC window. Blinds can fit within this casing with is made-to-measure. No operating cords are there and blinds are instead controlled with a simple tab or wand. Other blinds that can be installed in the same manner are roller blinds, venetian blinds and pleated blinds.
  • Get a blind that is operated with a remote control which gives you an option of a fully motorized blind that has no need for chains to be operated. Motorized blinds NYC has a great collection of motorized blinds you can browse. As long as you keep the remote away from your child then they might be some of the safest blinds out there.
  • Stylish shutters and curtains that can be fitted on a standard track or a pole lack any cords which are other safe options besides the chain and cord-free Roller blinds.
  • Wooden, Venetian and Roman blinds can be installed with a cleat, usually fitted at a height of at least 1.5m from the ground, for the controls to be wrapped around. Alternatively, they can be fitted with a hook to keep the controls inflexible.
  • Another safety feature for some blinds are breakaway components that sense when a certain amount of force is exerted on them. In case you end up pulling a control to hard and end up accidentally breaking away, they are as easy to reassemble.

The law requires that all designs with chains and cords be secured with a child safety device regardless of whether someone has children at home or not. The truth is even though you do not have any children, there is always a possibility of children visiting your home and paying around the house. If an older owner decides to move, the blinds left behind should also be safe for the new occupants of the house. You can as well get a professional to take care of installing the suitable child safety devices for you. Just make sure that no loose cords or chains are tie together. The best option however is using cordless and chainless blinds.

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