There are lots of reasons to pick made to measure blinds over curtains when you're furnishing your house. They are often much better at blacking out all the light from a room, and they're also pretty good thermally, as well as giving you a bit of added privacy.
What you might not consider though, is that window dressings, like so many things around the house, can become a hazard to small children. Even the most mundane of objects can become a potential death trap and made to measure blinds aren't excluded from that.
Even though you might want to have blackout made to measure blinds in your nursery, it might not be the best solution unless you think carefully about how the blinds will operate and whether they'll be safe for your little ones.
How can blinds cause injury?
The pull cord which you use to open and close your blinds is one of the main, and most obvious hazards. There are more risks than just that though. If you opt for something like a venetian blind they have cords which hold them together. Because these are much shorter loops than the pull cord itself, it is surprisingly easy for little ones to become entangled in the mechanism. If this happens to be around their neck it just doesn't bare thinking about.
With all those possible hazards, you're going to want to think carefully about the sort of blinds which you choose so that your little ones are nice and safe as well as in a dark room at bedtime.
Safety first
Just because made to measure blinds can be a hazard doesn't mean that they will be, and if you follow our simple steps, it'll be easy to achieve.
We've already identified what some of the main risks are, next you just need to know how to minimise those risks, to make sure that there's almost no way you're little one can end up hurting themselves. You'll sleep much better at night knowing that every area of your house has been thoroughly child proofed, and the chance of an accident in the home has been reduced to almost nothing.
Firstly, make sure your child's bed or baby's cot isn't placed right under the made to measure blinds where possible. Overly long cords which are too close to your child's sleeping place can create an opportunity of entanglement occurring. At night time you're less likely to be checking on them all the time, assuming that they can't get into too much trouble whilst asleep. By the time you check on them the damage could be done.
Instead, make sure you invest in cord cleats for every single adjustment cord around your house, even if it's a room your child isn't meant to go in (they have a bit of a habit of getting in these places as well. You can also shorten the cord itself so it's well out of the reach of little hands.
There are safety devices which you can buy and install into the cord itself which act as a breaker. If too much (more than a little tug) of pressure is applied, these will split, causing the cord to dangle harmlessly in two sections rather than a single problematic loop.
So simple, so easy, and it means you can make sure your little ones are safe and sound at all times.
Julie Kim
