Corded Blinds Will No Longer Be Sold Due to Child Strangulations

While the cords dangling from your window blinds may not seem like a risky item, for small children, they can pose the risk of strangulation or serious injury. In fact, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that from 1990 through 2015, 17,000 children under six, or almost two children a day, wound up in the emergency department for window blind-related injuries. Of those injured, the majority were released; however, about one child each month died when their neck became entangled in a window blind cord, according to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

In 2013, Erin Shero of Hixon, Tennessee, stepped out of the room to fix her 23-month-old son, Colton, a snack and when she returned, she thought her son had fallen asleep beneath the window. “Upon getting closer to him, I touched him and his little head rolled and I was able to see the window blind cord underneath his neck,” she recounted. She untangled Colton from the cord, dialed 911, and began performing CPR. Paramedics arrived and brough him to the hospital, where her son was pronounced dead.

Which is why a vast majority of window covering products sold in the United States will now be cordless or have inaccessible or short cords, as a result of a new safety standard that goes into effect on December 15, 2018.  This new requirement applies to stock products, sold in stores and online.  The new standard also adds requirements for corded custom window products as well.  A vast majority of window covering products sold in the United States will be cordless or have inaccessible or short cords, as a result of a new safety standard that goes into effect on December 15, 2018.  This new requirement applies to stock products, sold in stores and online, which accounts for more than 80 percent of all window covering products sold in the U.S.  The new standard also adds requirements for corded custom window products as well.  Corded window coverings can pose a strangulation hazard to infants and children and are one of the “top five hidden hazards in American homes,” according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Alternatives to Corded Blinds

If you have corded blinds (and young children) in your home, you may want to replace them with cordless and/or motorized options, such as cellular, roller or solar shades.