Starting 1990, approximately 200 lives of children have been claimed because of a seemingly innocent part of a household add-on – window blind cords. Indeed, window blind cord strangulation has slowly surfaced itself because of the rising statistics of toddler deaths caused by the window treatment. The possibility of that happening to your child is indeed tragic but is an eye-opener at the same time.
You cannot always put helmets and bubble wraps around your child but not heeding health and safety measures may mean risking the life of your kid.
Some may ignore health and safety procedures,
or simply brush them aside as something unimportant, but as accident occurrence rise, maybe it is time that we turn our head towards health and safety inside the homes.
Starting 1990, approximately 200 lives of children have been claimed because of a seemingly innocent part of a household add-on – window blind cords. Indeed, window blind cord strangulation has slowly surfaced itself because of the rising statistics of toddler deaths caused by the window treatment. The possibility of that happening to your child is indeed tragic but is an eye-opener at the same time.
To prevent useless loss of lives, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is consulting with the Window Covering Safety Council in an effort to promote October as the National Window Covering Month.
The United States may be the proponent of this idea, but this does not mean that people in Britain must lie like sleeping dogs, ignoring the statistics. Surely, this is not a problem that is true only to United States – this can also happen to people in living other countries. No one is exempt from taking cautious steps to prevent window blind cord strangulation accidents.
If people would not do anything, it is the kids who will be at risk in the end. Having some small wounds and scratches are normal in the growing up and explorations stages of children, but if their very lives are at stake, that is altogether a different thing.
It is natural for parents to protect the welfare and lives of their children at all costs. This drive to care for the young ones gave birth to the list of precautionary measures that parents usually adapt in their homes. Procedures like preventing children from going close to stoves, or using sharp objects have become the “rules of the house”.
Hyper active toddlers are even more difficult to manage. Because of the unpredictability of kids, you might as well just remove the window blinds which have trailing cords that can accidentally strangle the kids. You can replace them with temporary blinds that do not have those deadly cords.
Venetian blinds are also a good idea because they are made without the necessity of those cords, but be prepared to shell out a bigger amount of money. It is up to the parents to formulate strategies and methods to make their home child-friendly. Identifying the danger zones around the house and the risky items can also help.
The burden of ensuring the safety of the kids is passed both to the parents as well as the manufacturers of the products. Even though they cannot track who or how their products will be used, companies making these merchandise should also make sure that the products are safe. Parents on the other hand, should not be blamed if ever such accidents have already transpired because it would be like rubbing salt to an open wound.
Losing a child because of a simple window blind cord is very devastating. You need to secure everything on your home and really make an effort that indeed, your child is safer in your hands and in your home.
