Can I put a blind in my child's bedroom?

If you want to fit a blind in your child's bedroom, try to find one without looped cords. If you cannot find blinds without looped cords, consider whether you need a blind at all - could you use curtains or a different window dressing?

Each year RoSPA hears about one or two children being strangled in the UK when they get caught in the cords of window blinds or other window coverings. Try to buy coverings which do not use cords for adjustments.

Research indicates that most accidental deaths involving blind cords happen in the bedroom and occur in children between 16 months and 36 months old, with the majority (over half) happens at around 23 months. These toddlers are mobile, but their heads still weigh proportionately more than their bodies compared to adults and their muscular control is not yet fully developed, which makes them more prone to be unable to free themselves if they become entangled. In addition, their windpipes have not yet fully developed and are smaller and less rigid than adults and older children, making them suffocate more quickly if their necks are constricted. If you already have blinds tie the ends out of the reach of children, using a cleat or a drawcord shortener. Make sure cots are never placed near window blinds or other items which have cords and loops.

RoSPA does not recommend that cords are cut, even as a short-term solution. It is advisable that any action taken on the blind cord is a permanent one which will take the cord out of reach of children. It is not an expensive task and cleats will be made available to those who need them from the RoSPA website!

Cutting the cord in the wrong place can make the blind inoperable; and it may also lead to one cord becoming a lot longer which increases the risk of entanglement. Cut cords can also become tangled up resulting in the reformation of a loop.