NEW YORK, NY – To some people Valentine’s Day is just a commercialized holiday and an excuse to eat sweets and candy until your heart is content. However, it is important to remember that it is also a time to celebrate and appreciate all those you love, especially your children. There is nothing quite like the love a parent has for their child and the desire to ensure that they are kept safe. While some safety measures are routine, there are some hidden dangers that you may be overlooking that can be dangerous for young children. The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) wishes you a very Happy Valentine’s Day and would like to provide a few tips to help parents practice window cord safety and continue to keep their little loved ones safe.
- Install only cordless window coverings in homes with young children. Replace window blinds, corded shades and draperies manufactured before 2001 with today’s safer products.
- Move all cribs, beds, chairs, furniture and toys away from windows and window cords, preferably to another wall.
- Make sure cribs are properly assembled and meet current safety standards, and that crib mattresses fit snugly.
- Remove crib toys with cords, strings and ties, which can present a strangulation hazard.
- Keep all window pull cords and inner lift cords out of the reach of children. Make sure that tasseled pull cords are short and continuous-loop cords are permanently anchored to the floor or wall. Make sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit movement of inner lift cords.
- Lock cords into position whenever horizontal blinds or shades are lowered, including when they come to rest on a windowsill.
- Support heavy furniture by using wall-angle brackets or anchors to make sure they are secure.
- Set up blockades around fireplaces, ovens, heaters and stairs.
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The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) is a coalition of major U.S. manufacturers, importers and retailers of window coverings. The Council assists and supports its members in the industry’s ongoing efforts to encourage the use of cordless products in homes with young children, its redesign of corded products, and to support the national ANSI/WCMA standard for the safety of corded window coverings. WCSC’s activities in no way constitute an assumption of any legal duty owed by its members or any other entity. Consumers having need to retrofit rather than replace their older window coverings can order free retrofit devices through WCSC’s website at www.windowcoverings.org or its toll-free phone line at 1-800-506-4636.