Corded Window Blinds
In Maryland a bill is being proposed in the House, sponsored by Delegate Kirill Resnick, to require all state-approved child care facilities to remove or meet specific standards in corded window blinds. This is the personal mission of mother Kathleen Leeson to protect children from the possible dangers of corded window blinds. Kathleen’s two year old son, Angel Duenas, caught himself in a corded window blind and strangled. From this horrible tragedy, Kathleen is now compelled to warn other parents and caretakers about the child safety risks of having corded window blinds in your home or daycare facility.
This bill, if passed, will require all day care facilities in the state of Maryland to remove their corded blinds or alter their operation system to a cordless mechanism. Just a few years ago the Consumer Product Safety Board issued the largest recall for any product in U.S. history on corded blinds. The manufacturers have already addressed this issue, however many people still have these blinds in their homes or day care centers and will not change them for quite some time for economical reasons. Kathleen Leeson is spreading the message that buying new window blinds is very easy in comparison with mourning the loss of a child.
Day care owners and home owners with children who are concerned with the child safety of their window treatments should consider cordless blinds and shades. In window treatments, the real danger for your children lies with the cord which has the potential to cause injuries or strangulation. Child safety window blinds and shades have cordless operating features to prevent any accidents in the home.
These cordless functions for child safety blinds include a control wand or a motorized lift. The wand can be turned either clockwise or counter clockwise to adjust the slats or vanes and used to push the entire stack of blinds one way or the other. Motorized blinds involve the use of a remote control and have no manual operating system at all. Child safety window shades also make use of the motorized lift feature. Roller shades in particular are a great cordless option. The bottom rail of the shade is used to easily pull the shade either open or closed
Another possibility, for windows that have a positioning or size that will not allow a cordless blind or shade, is the continuous cord loop. Although there is a cord, it does not change in length as the shade or blind is pulled open and it can be mounted to the wall out of reach of children.
Overall, those who are interested in child safety for their window treatments have several cordless options to address the issue. Kathleen Leeson’s bill calls for these cordless blinds and shades to be used statewide in Maryland, however this is really a national concern. Similar accidents have happened all over the country and everyone needs to be aware of the risks of corded window blinds to small children. To prevent unnecessary child deaths and injuries in the future be sure to choose cordless options for improved child safety window treatments.
