The days have gotten shorter, the wind has gotten colder and the first signs of frost cling to windows. It’s official: winter is almost here.
Winter means more time spent inside for children and pets. No one can resist peeking out of the window and watching the fresh snowfall, but it’s important to avoid potential blind cord hazards in the home. The Window Covering Safety Council offers these 8 blind cord safety tips to keep your family safe:
- Children love to peek out the window to see the snowfall. Be sure to only use cordless window products in homes with young children. Replace older window coverings with today’s safer, cordless products.
- Keep all window pull cords and inner lift cords out of the reach of children. Make sure that tasseled pull cords are short and continuous-loop cords are permanently anchored to the floor or wall. cord stops should be properly installed and adjusted to limit the movement of inner lift cords.
- Move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows.
- Make sure that children play in areas with a warm shelter nearby. Children should take frequent breaks from the cold to warm up and drink plenty of liquids.
- Dress children in several layers of clothing so that they can remove one layer if they get warm to prevent overheating.
- Remove wet shoes and clothing immediately when children return from outside.
- Keep space heaters three feet away from anything that can burn and be sure to turn them off when you leave the room.
- Do not let children play outdoors if the temperature or the wind chill is below 32°F. Check the weather forecast to ensure temperatures won’t fall drastically throughout the day.
For more safety tips, visit the Window Safety Council’s website. Don’t forget to also take our Blind Cord Safety pledge.
Note: This article was first published January 2016.
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