Blind Safety for Children and Pets

Blinds are beautiful addition to any room, offering a sophisticated furnishing for a window that not only looks great but offers many benefits such as light control and privacy. However, an overlooked aspect regarding blinds is how they hazardous they can potentially be for young children and small pets.

Blind cords can be incredibly dangerous should a child or pet get tangled up in them without the supervision of a nearby adult. Many of the dangers associated with blinds are easily avoidable providing you the time to familiarise yourself with blind safety and buy an appropriate set of blinds.

Blind Safety Devices

There are many blind design features that aim to make them safer for children and pets while you can easily add other safety devices purchased separately.

For example, you can easily get cord cleats that allow for excess cord to be neatly tidied away and out of reach from children, reducing the risk of an accident. Cleats are ideal for most blinds operated by cords, such as venetian, and they are very simple to install yourself.

Another popular safety device for other types of blinds is chain tensioners. Roller blinds use looped chains to lower and raise the blind, but this can be rather risky for children and pets. By using a tensioning device, you can ensure the chain is tight enough that it is no longer a risk for children or pets.

Consider Cordless

As child safety takes more precedence in blind design, more products are becoming available that greatly reduce the chances of an accident occurring. One of the most prominent examples of this is cord blinds.

Cordless blind options are widely available, although it will likely mean you have to upgrade your current blinds. As this is likely an expensive endeavour, consider replacing the blinds one room at a time, starting with the blinds that pose the biggest potential risk or the rooms where your child or pet spends most of their time.

Avoid Dangerously Placed Furniture

Because children love to climb furniture, they pose an unnecessary risk when placed nearby to windows. Children climbing on furniture are more likely to accidently get tangle in a cord or other device should they fall, so eliminate this risk by moving your furniture away from windows and blinds.

Don’t Think Your Child is Old Enough to Avoid and Accident

It is easy to assume that blinds only pose a potential risk to very young child, but this is far from the truth. Even if your child is no longer a toddler, be mindful of the risks still present by blinds in your home.

Children as old as eight have been reported in accidents involving blinds, so never presume that your child isn’t young enough to still be at risk.

Ensure Proper Installation

A safe set of blinds will not be safe if they haven’t been properly installed. Even those that have used a safety device may still have a set of potentially dangerous blinds should the device no be properly installed.

For example, if a cord-restraining device isn’t effectively secure, the cord may be loose enough for a child to fit their head through.

Window blind safety is even more important if you live in areas such as the city centre where there is many high rise flats.