Window Treatments
Keep Your Toddlers & Pets Safe
Child-Proof Your Window Treatments
More than 140 children have died in the United States since 1981 by strangulation from window treatment cords, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). It is easy to make today's window treatments safer for young children with just a few simple adjustments, to prevent these tragic accidents.
Cribs and furniture should not be placed near a window.
Even if you have child guards on the windows, young children are tempted to
investigate cords dangling from window treatments. Since young children
climb, never put a chair or other object near a window with a dangling cord.
Keep all cords out of reach from small children and pets. Place the cords on hooks (called cleats) to keep the cords from being in harm's way. It is best not to wrap them around the cleat, as this causes the cords to twist. Twisting causes the cords to get caught in the headrail, making the shade difficult to keep straight along the bottom.
Eliminate loops on two-corded horizontal blinds.
Cut the cord above the end tassel (the item that looks like a small wooden
or plastic thimble). Remove the equalizer buckle, then add new tassels for
each cord-or replace it with a safety break-away tassel. The CPSC urges you
NOT to retie the cords in a knot, as that will only recreate a new loop.
Eliminate cellular shade cord loops.
Cut the cord and place separate tassels at the ends.
Keep continuous looping drapery cords anchored near the floor, to keep the cords taut.
Only buy window blinds and shades that already have these safety features built-in. If you already own some that do not, the simplest and quickest solution is to use cord cleats.
