Every year, 2 children pass away after becoming entangled with chains or cords on blinds in UK homes (Child Accident Prevention Trust). These tragedies are easily avoidable with just a few simple adjustments to the blinds you already have at home.
The Make it Safe campaign by the British Blind and Shutter Association works to prevent this happening to any other families. They make homes and public buildings safer for children by telling you what you should look for in new blinds and showing you how to make the blinds you already have safer.
How to check if your blinds are dangerous
If any of your blinds are operated by a cord or chain in the shape of a loop, they pose a risk to children. Research shows that children younger than age three who are left alone in a room are at the greatest risk. It’s vital to check every blind in your home. Young children love to explore, and things can go wrong very quickly.
Follow this checklist to see if your blinds pose a risk to children in your home:
- Do your blinds have a cord or chain in the shape of a loop?
- Are the cords or chains within reach of your children?
- Are the blinds situated near beds, cots, highchairs or playpens?
- Are the blinds near any furniture that your children could climb?
How to make your blinds safer for children
Did you answered yes to any of the questions above? If so, you need to take some steps to make your blinds safer. This isn’t as complicated as it might seem. All you need to do is ensure that the operating loop on your blind is kept well out of the reach of children.
The best way to do this is with a tidy or a tensioner, which attaches the loop to the wall. The device holds the loop taught, but it can still be used normally. You will only need some simple tools for this, such as a screwdriver, a drill, and small fixings that are appropriate for the type of wall you are installing the tensioner on.
There are slightly different ways to make each type of blind safer. Check for the type of blind you have below.
Roller blinds
- Install a tensioner at the bottom of the loop so that it no longer swings free within the reach of children.
- If the chain hangs quite low, you should look at shortening the chain before installing the safety device.
- You can do this by fully lowering the connector on the chain, then cutting the other side of the chain 4-6 beads below the level of the connector. Then open the chain connector and add the cut end to it to create a smaller loop.
- If your chain is made from metal, it’s still possible to shorten it – but you may need a pair of pliers to help you manipulate the metal.
Pleated blinds
- Use a cleat to wrap up the cord and keep it out of reach.
- If the cord hangs low, cut it to make it shorter and then install a cleat nearer to the top of the window frame to guarantee that it remains out of reach. The cleat must be installed a minimum of 1.5 metres from the floor.
- Wrap the cord in a figure-of-eight pattern on the cleat to store it away safely.
Roman blinds
- Use a cleat to wrap the cord up safely away.
- On Roman blinds, a cord runs along the back side of the blind too. You should install a breakaway device on the rear cords. Your Roman blinds will still work normally, but under undue loads the cords will separate so they no longer pose a strangulation risk.
Vertical blinds
- Vertical blinds often have a set of two looped chains and cords. If the chains and cords are the same length, you can install just one tensioner. If they are different lengths, fit two tensioning devices.
Venetian blinds
- If your cord is very long, you can cut it shorter. But you’ll still need to install a cleat to keep it out of the reach of children and prevent them from operating the blind.
- Some Venetian blinds have extra cords for tilting the blinds. You should shorten these too. First, tilt the blind all the way to one side, then to the other to find out how much cord you can cut off. Then install cleats to keep the cords safely stored away.
How to buy child safe blinds
When buying new blinds, make sure they’re safe for children. Any new blinds you buy should be ‘safe by design’ or provided alongside a safety device.
Safe by design means that the blinds can be operated without the use of a looped cord or chain. Cords can be concealed, tensioned, or otherwise inaccessible.
There are many new ways of operating blinds that do not include loops in their design:
- By crank or gearbox
- With a Spring
- Wand-operated
- An enclosed chain with a slider
- Retractable cords or ones with locks on them
- Blinds fitted into the beading of the window, which you can operate by just moving the bottom slat up and down by hand
- Electric blinds, which can be operated by button or remote control
There are plenty of child safe blinds available on the market. Feel free to ask us if you have any questions or concerns.
Get help with making your blinds child safe
Even if you don’t have children of your own, we recommend checking your blinds and making them safer where necessary – just in case a friend or relative brings young ones to visit.
As a member of the BBSA, we stock many safety devices like tensioners, cleats and breakaway cords to make your existing blinds safe. We’re more than happy to offer advice on which safety devices will work best with your blinds. If you have any questions about how to install your safety devices, we can walk you through the process.
If you are thinking of upgrading your blinds, we stock many child-safe options – there won’t be any need to install additional safety devices.
Get in contact with us or visit our showroom if you have any questions about how to make your blinds safe for children.
