Safety Advocate Advises Daycares Across America to Replace Corded Window Coverings with Plantation Shutters
Sunburst Shutters is first shutter company to receive window safety seal
of approval every October is Window Covering Safety Month and the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission and Parents for Window Blind Safety
work diligently to educate the public about the hazards of
window coverings with cords. Children continue to die from
strangulation in window cords despite recent industry efforts to offer
"safety kits" for corded window coverings such as mini-blinds
or shades. It is estimated that as many as 89 children have died due to
strangulation from 2000, the year the safety kits were introduced through 2005.
Sunburst Shutters, the nation's leading manufacturer of interior
shutters, and Parents for Window Blind Safety (PFWBS) are educating the
public about the hazards that corded window coverings present to
children. PFWBS is advises homes
and daycare centers that the only way to complete avoid these hazards
is to replace corded window coverings with cordless products like
plantation shutters. The organization has recognized Sunburst Shutters
as the first shutter company to receive the non-profit's Safety Seal of
Approval, which is awarded after rigorous testing confirms the window
treatment is completely safe for children.
As part of Sunburst's window covering safety education campaign, the
company donated more than 1,000 square feet of interior
shutters to daycares in select cities that previously had mini blinds
on their windows.
"Many childcare facilities continue to use corded window
treatments but they don't know that safety kits do not make vertical
blinds, pleated shades, and horizontal blinds any safer than they were
20 years ago said Linda Kaiser, Founder and Executive Director of
PFWBS. "These safety kits still pose a dangerous and potentially
fatal threat to young children. Safety kits don't work– a plantation
shutter is the best solution."
A 1997 study, published in the Journal of American Medical
Association(JAMA) estimated that 359 children were strangled by window
covering cords from 1981 to 1995, which was an average of approximately
one child strangling every two weeks. The study went on to reveal that
an estimated 49 percent of cases with children strangling in window
cords go unreported. Deaths of children three and younger account for
over 90 percent of the window-covering related deaths, making daycares
and homes with small children particularly vulnerable locations for
similar tragedies.
"We have identified eight different ways a small child can
strangle in a window covering cord," said Kaiser. "But the
most common method is older children reaching pull cords that are tied
up out of their reach-a hazard that manufacturers don't tell you about
on window coverings they are manufacturing today. Another
strangulation danger is from the inner cord-the cord that is attached
to each louver. We feel that awareness, education, and the willingness
to replace dangerous blinds with safer alternatives such as interior
shutters are the only way to reduce the prevalence of these tragic
situations."
Kaiser, whose daughter was strangled in mini blinds in 2001, has made
it her mission to spread the word about the potential dangers involved
with corded window coverings.
"There's one rule to follow," says Dix Jarman, CEO of
Sunburst Shutters. "When it comes to window treatments, kids and
cords don\'t mix. Parents need to be aware that any cord can pose a
danger, even if they are tied up and secured to a wall."
Interior shutters are a safe alternative to corded window coverings
because there are no cords involved. Sunburst Shutters' louvers pose no
strangulation threat to small children. In addition, it is physically
impossible for a child to fit into the space between each louver of the
shutter.
"We are very proud to be involved with such an important cause and
believe that window covering safety is something that every parent and
caretaker should be aware of," said Jarman. "We hope that the
public will start seeking out safer alternatives and ultimately stop
these avoidable tragedies from taking place."
For more information on the dangers of corded window treatments, visit:
http://www.pfwbs.org
