Blind cord dangers

As a home-childcare professional you regularly risk assess your home for possible dangers, but had you thought about the blinds in your home? Some media reports recently have highlighted tragic deaths where children have strangled themselves with looped blind cords.

 

What can you do to prevent this happening both to your own children and the children you care for?

 

The following guidance is adapted from information provided by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (Capt).

 

What can home-based childcare providers do?

Children under 4 are at greatest risk. They’re full of energy and love to climb up – on a toy chest, chair, bookcase, chest of drawers or even a radiator thermostat – to see out of the window or reach a favourite toy. But if they lose their balance and the blind cord gets tangled round their neck, strangulation can take place in seconds, as they struggle to get free.

 

It’s even been known for crawling babies to get tangled in long blind cords hanging down onto the floor or for babies to get caught in blind cords hanging into their cots.

 

Taking a few simple precautions can significantly reduce the risk of an accident happening:

  • Make sure all looped blind cords and chains are safely out of children’s reach.
  • Move your child’s cot, bed, highchair or playpen away from a window blind.
  • If you can, move other furniture away from a window blind too.

 

There are lots of safety devices on the market that you can use to secure blind cords safely out of harm’s way – including simple cleat hooks that you can wrap the blind cord around.

 

If you’re buying new blinds, look for ones which comply with new requirements published by the EU in summer 2011. These requirements are designed to protect children (up to 42 months in particular) so make sure you tell the salesperson that you are looking after children in your home. 

 

You may be able to purchase blinds which are designed with no accessible looped cords at all. If these are not suitable, look for blinds where a safety device is integral to the design of the blind or where a safety device is included in the pack and is already attached to the cord. The pack should contain clear instructions for use and warnings where appropriate.

 

Inbuilt safety features include wands that operate the blind mechanism, chains that break apart when excessive force is applied, or pulleys that hold the blind cord tightly in place. 

 

All members of the British Blind and Shutter Association only sell blinds that meet new European safety standards. To find a member in your area go to their website http://www.bbsa.org.uk/. Remember to check your childcare setting and take steps to secure any blind cords safely out of harm’s way.

 

Even if you buy and install new blinds complying with the new standard, you should still take care to:

 

  • think about the location of furniture near windows
  • regularly check that the blind and safety device are working properly
  • keep the instructions in case you need to reinstall the blinds, for example after taking them down to decorate a room.

 

You can give information to parents too

Think about how you can alert the parents and carers of young children to the dangers of looped blind cords and the practical solutions.

 

You could also download a copy of the British Blind and Shutter Association’s leaflet on blind cord safety, which shows parents how to reduce the risk from their website http://www.bbsa.org.uk/.

 

You could even buy a cheap safety device, such as a cleat hook, so that you can show parents and carers how they work. Remind parents that they will need to fix the hook so that it’s out of reach of a climbing youngster.

 

The Child Accident Prevention Trust has produced a new picture-based booklet for parents of toddlers, which illustrates both the danger of blind cord strangulation and a practical solution. Click on the link to view a sample copy of Now I’m a toddler I can….

 

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has information about the issue and a series of FAQs about blind cord safety. And the Department of Health has published information too.

 

Page last updated: 10/3/2011