How To Make Your Blinds Safe for Children

September 27, 2023

Blind safety around children is a concern which we take very seriously at Blind Technique. It is primarily the dangling loops and cords which prove an endless source of fascination for young children as they can tragically mistake them for something to play with leading to sometimes fatal consequences.

As The BBSA confirms, since February 2014 all blinds sold in the UK must comply with child safety standards. This means they must not contain cords or chains or, if they do, they must be fitted with safety devices. The BBSA recommends that blinds which do not contain operating cords or chains or have concealed or tensioned cords are chosen when making blinds safe for children.

For more information, please visit the Make It Safe campaign run by the BBSA. The UK Government also offers these resources and The Child Accident Prevention Trust detail the stark risks.

Rest assured that at Blind Technique we make blinds safe for children by:

Installing safe blinds to all homes regardless of whether children or babies are present or not
Limiting cord and chain lengths on the safe blinds we install
Including safety devices for preventing any cords or chains from creating a hazardous loop
Providing safety warnings and instructions

When considering how to make blinds safe for children, at Blind Technique, all our products fall into three safety categories.

The categories to help make blinds safe for children are:

Products which are inherently safe – such as tensioned Pleated Blinds, spring controlled Roller Blinds, wand operated Vertical Blinds, Velux and Skylight blinds, Perfect-Fit Roller and Pleated Blinds, INTU Blinds, motorised products, crank operated blinds, Plantation Shutters, Awnings. These blind styles do not have any cords present which can form a hazardous loop.
Products which have inbuilt safety systems – like chain connectors which pull apart when a certain force is applied to prevent a loop being formed. Restrictions on cord or chain length and minimum distance from the floor once installed.
Products which have separate safety devices installed – examples include cord/chain tensions (cleats) to keep unsafe looped cords safe and away from children. Note that these devices can normally be retrofitted to existing blinds to make blinds safe for children.

Also know that the beauty of buying bespoke custom blinds is the ability to design the window blinds of your choice tailored to your exact requirements. Plus, motorisation operated by remote control or wall-mounted switch is also an option to help make blinds safe for children.

Practical tips to help keep blinds safe for children

Alert – know the risks in detail, provide constant adult supervision particularly around curious and energetic toddlers and always have your mobile phone to hand and fully charged
Aware – ensure children know and understand without question that window dressings are simply not toys and are also very expensive (can be) so please don’t touch
Access – keep cots, beds, sofas and highchairs away from your custom blinds so any cords or chains (if present) ae simply always out of reach
Area – create a designed play area within the home where all the toys are located to discourage young children from wandering off to find amusement elsewhere
Arrange – rethink the flow of the furniture in the dedicated play area. Should young children climb over furniture check they will still not be able to reach the window blinds. Ensure there are no spaces where the young children can’t be seen so that emergency intervention in the event of an accident is always possible as the seconds really count

Making blinds safe for children is all about achieving the optimal balance of safety, security, structure, style and of course – installing effective shading solutions.

Children’s Bedroom Blinds at Blind Technique

Did you know we offer fun character blinds for bedrooms, nurseries and playrooms which are child safe as we have outlined above?