How to Keep Window Treatments Safe for Kids

Children are our most valuable priority, both as business owners and home owners. As a leader in the window treatment industry, WCAA seeks to highlight the importance of window covering safety this October. With around nine childhood deaths per year due to window cord strangulation, the gravity of this situation can’t be overstated.

 
window treatment covering curtain blinds shades safety cordless
 

The Home Pro’s Vital Role in Window Treatment Safety

When you, the home industry professional, are specifying window treatments for your client’s home or place of business, opt for cord-free solutions and consider motorization for hard-to-reach areas.

In late September 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission drafted two rules regarding window coverings that will impact your window treatment services if enacted:

  1. Custom window coverings: A mandatory consumer product safety rule under sections 7 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) establishing performance requirements for safe operating cords on custom window coverings; and

  2. Stock and custom window coverings: A rule under section 15(j) of the CPSA, deeming the presence of hazardous operating cords and inner cords on stock window coverings, and hazardous inner cords on custom window coverings, to be a substantial product hazard under section 15(a)(2) of the CPSA.

Taken together, if finalized, the draft final rules would address the risk of strangulation deaths and injuries to children 8 years old and younger on stock and custom window covering cords, comprised of operating cords and inner cords, on each product type.

[Source: CPSC.gov]

 
 

Responsible Interior Design Practices Result in Safer Homes

Here are a few simple, yet life-saving, things you can do as an interior design, window treatment, or installation professional to make homes safer for children:

  1. If you’re uncertain whether a window treatment is safe for installation in children’s spaces, simply look for the Best for Kids™ certification label, available across the United States.

  2. Double-check that the products you’ve specified for use in children’s spaces are not recalled by the manufacturer.

  3. Ensure that all large furniture pieces (e.g. book cases) are fastened securely to the wall on installation day. Kids will climb. You can make sure nothing tips over on them.

For more safety precautions in the home, please go to www.windowcoverings.org.

Have a happy and aware Window Treatment Safety Month!

Renee Gurganus