Childproofing Mini Blind Cords

Mini blind cords often get overlooked when childproofing your home. Like cabinets and electrical outlets, they are another inconspicuous item that in the past you may have considered harmless; as a parent, however, they must be treated as a potential hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that one child a month suffers an accidental strangulation because of mini blind cords, so be sure to know the dangers and take care to prevent any possible harm.

Rearrange Your Perspective, And Your Furniture

As with other childproofing projects, look at the world from your child’s point of view: close to the ground. You’ll see that the outer pull cord of your blinds might be lowered down to the range of a toddler’s reach once the blinds are raised. Tie off this cord into a knot out of the children’s reach or place it atop the window treatment.

Rearrange the furniture so that a chair, sofa, bench, or bookcase is never near a window with a dangling cord that children can climb and reach. The inner cords that thread through the blinds may also present a hazard, as your children can pull out these looped lines and get entangled in them as well. So it’s a good rule of thumb to keep all furniture, especially cribs and beds, clear of the windows and the blinds covering them.

The safest option would be to install cordless blinds that work on a spring-action release in children’s bedrooms. This eliminates all possibility of a mini blind cord hazard.

Retrofit Older Blinds

If you have older model horizontal blinds or corded shades (made pre-2001) anywhere in your home, you can retrofit them with cord stops to aid in safety. With these small crimps in place, loops from cords will not be able to tighten up around an entangled child. Follow the diagram (see “Graphics”) and these instructions to install cord stops:

1. Lower the blind to its proper length and lock cords into position at the head rail.

Then, for each pull cord:

2. Pinch together a portion of the pull cord to create a loop near the head rail, then slide the cord stop over the loop end.
3. Slip the free end of the pull cord through the loop to loosely knot the cord stop onto the pull cord.
4. Tighten the knot to secure the cord stop one to two inches below the head rail to limit movement of inner lift cords.

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Tags child, childproofing, CPSC, parents

Learning Center Forum Topic

1 Comment

huckleberries4us on Oct 4, 2011   11:50 AM Flag as inappropriate Flag as inappropriate

Mini- blinds have affected my family dearly.We lost our three year old little girl to a tragic mini blind accident. Losing a child to such a horrible accident is one of the worst things in life to have to go through! Please be safe around the household and make sure your house is childproof. I don't want anyone to go through the struggles my family has been through after my daughter's tragic accident.

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