Essential window safety products
that should be in every home with little children

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Learn why CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) insists parents install window safety products. Yearly more than 3, 000 children are injured from falls from open windows. Some children have to be treated in hospitals and other injuries turn out to be fatal.

Young children do not understand the danger of open windows and in their attempt to climb through they can get seriously injured.

Window locks and wedges are cheap solutions to stop children from opening and falling out of windows. Where a normal window lock will stop your toddler from opening a window it can not protect him from falling through the glass of the window.

A window guard mounts on the inside in front off the glass for extra child protection. Window guards come in all shapes and sizes to fit all window types.

Important window safety rules:

Most injuries happen in spring and summer time when people open their windows to let some fresh air in. Use a window stop or window wedge so windows can not be opened more than 4 inches.
Screens to keep out insects are not reliable to keep children from falling out of windows. Children have been injured seriously by leaning or pushing themselves against window screens that could not hold their weight.
It is safer to open windows from the top—not the bottom.
Keep furniture away from windows, they may be used as climbing aids by children to reach a window.
Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows. In some jurisdictions a landlord must install window guards upon written request of the tenant. Check your local regulations.

How to use window safety products.

Window cord safety.

Every two weeks a child dies of strangulation of window cords. Not only the pull cords of the blinds can present a hazard for your child but many children have managed to pull the inner cords that run through the blinds and get them twisted around their necks.

The Window Covering Safety Council urges parents and caregivers of little children only to use cordless window coverings in their bedrooms. They also encourage parents to replace window blinds, corded shades and draperies produced before 2001 with products that meet today's safety standards.

Do not rely on window safety products that either wrap up blind cords or wind them up out of reach of children. Watch the videos on the Parents for Window Blind Safety web site and you will understand why only cordless blinds and shades are safe with little children in the house.

The majority of children of strangulation deaths by blind cords concerns children younger than three. These accidents often happen when parents think their child is in a safe place, asleep or playing in his crib. Window cords dangling in or near a crib can get entangled around baby's neck and injure or kill him. It is of utmost importance that you never place a baby's crib near a window. Click here to learn more about designing a safe nursery.

What happens in case of a fire?

Nailing your windows shut may seem a cheap solution but can become very dangerous in case you need it as an emergency escape. It is better to install window guards that adults and older children can open easily in case there is a fire.

Some houses have pre installed window guards or safety bars without a functioning release system. Consider replacing them with proper window safety products like newer models with a release mechanism. Make sure that at least on window in each room can be used as an emergency way out in case of fire.