Strangulation and asphyxiation
While most of the time children’s natural inquisitiveness will result in nothing serious, occasionally things can go tragically wrong. If young children get something caught around their neck or over their mouth, the effects can be quick and devastating.
Thankfully, these kind of accidents don’t have to happen.
Blind cords
Blinds might look harmless enough, but to a toddler or young child the looped cords can be deadly if they get them caught around their neck. In fact, since 2001, looped blind cords have been involved in at least 35 deaths in the UK.
Most of these accidents have involved children aged between one-and-a-half and two-years-old, and most commonly happen in the bedroom – which also happens to be the place where children of that age spend the most amount of time unsupervised.
The safest thing you can do is fit a blind that is safe by design, which means that it does not have looped cords. There are additional steps you can take to keep your little ones safe:
Choose blinds that do not have a cord, particularly in a child's bedroom
Do not place a child's cot, bed, playpen or highchair near a window
Keep cords on curtains and blinds short and use cleats, cord tidies, clips or ties to keep them out of reach.
Cord tidy
Cord cleat
New cord cleat
NEVER cut a blind cord, as this will not only stop your blinds working, it can actually make your blinds more dangerous.
Nappy sacks
Many of us are aware of the risks plastic bags such as shopping bags, bin bags or packing materials from parcels can pose to young children, especially babies who have a tendency to grasp at anything and put it to their face.
Sold to dispose of soiled nappies, nappy sacks are a common sight in many nurseries and changing bags. Often fragranced, and in a range of bright colours, they are especially attractive to young children.
Unfortunately, they can also be deadly, with at least 17 children having suffocated after a nappy sack covered their mouth and nose or having choked after putting a nappy sack in their mouth.
The best advice is to simply stop using nappy sacks – not only can they be dangerous, they’re also terrible for the environment. If you do decide to carry on using them:
Always keep nappy sacks, other plastic bags and wrapping away from babies and young children
Never place nappy sacks in a baby’s cot, pram or buggy.
Other things to watch out for
While blind cords are a significant risk, there are lots of other common household items that can get caught around young children’s throats. Because toddlers’ windpipes have not yet fully developed, they tend to suffocate more quickly than older children.
There are countless items long and flexible enough to be dangerous; here is a list of ones to
be especially watchful for:
“If I ever catch my child with something around the neck I tell them off and take it off them. It’s just too important to take the risk.”
Liam, father of two