KINGMAN - The recent death of a Kingman 14-month-old has raised concerns among parents and other childcare providers about window blind cords.
Before 1995, window blinds, shades and some curtains were manufactured with a loop pull cord, which would raise and lower a shade or curtain. From 1991 to 2000, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission received more than 160 reports of strangulations involving pull cords on window blinds.
In 1994, the CPSC partnered with the window blind and curtain industry to create the Window Covering Safety Council.
Since then, the council has put out recall notices on hundreds of window coverings and blinds manufactured before 2001 and worked to eliminate all loop pull cords that pose a strangulation hazard to small children.
But it's not just the pull cords that raise and lower window blinds or curtains that pose a risk to infants and small children. Twenty of 160 reports the CPSC received from 1991 to 2000 involved inner cords that run through the slats of the blinds or behind certain types of curtains, such as roman shades or roll up shades.
The CPSC found that children could pull on inner cords that control the blind slats or the shade and form a loop that they could strangle in.
Window blinds and curtains sold since November 2000 now have mechanisms designed to prevent a child from pulling on the inner cords and creating a loop.
The CPSC and WCSC also recommend that parents install only cordless varieties of window coverings in the bedrooms of young children, move cribs and playpens away from window coverings and keep window covering cords and chains permanently out of the reach of children or make them too short for the child to reach. They recommend against knotting or tying cords together because this creates a new loop in which a child could become entangled.
They also recommend making sure that loop cords for vertical blinds are anchored securely.
According to the CPSC and the WCSC, there are still thousands of blinds, curtains and shades with dangerous cords in homes across the country.
They recommend parents and grandparents check their blinds, curtains and shades for loop pull cords and either replace their window coverings with new cordless window coverings or repair them with a free repair kit from the WCSC. Cordless window coverings usually have a stick or wand that controls the opening of the blind slats instead of a cord. To request a repair kit, visit www.windocoverings.org or call (800) 506-4636. The kits include a cord stop to prevent inner cords from being pulled loose, safety tassels for loop pull cords and special cord tie-downs for vertical blinds, draperies or pleated shades.
Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Your first task is to determine which type of window treatment will suit your room best. If you choose to install curtains there are some things you will need to consider. Also we ensure the safety of using these window blinds.
Posted: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
This is tragic and horrible. More and more people are finding cordless blinds as an option that is not only safer, but gives peace of mind.
Posted: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Dont forget that dogs and cats can also get trapped in these too. If you have pets, don't let the cords dangle down where they can reach them
If you don't have the type of cord that snaps apart automatically, then tie knots up and down the cord so that a head can't get looped or noosed in them - or better yet, call the number above and ask for a child/pet proofing kit.
Bless the family of this precious little boy.
Posted: Friday, April 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Karen
I think it is so sad that another baby has lost his life over something that could have been prevented.I am glad that you wrote this article to inform people of the dangers that lurk in their homes that they arent even aware of.My heart and prayers goes out to the parents who have lost a child from this disaster.
