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10/7/2004
Cut the Cord on Window Covering Safety Month: Shutters Are the Solution The cordless product the mini-blind companies don’t want you to know about
For Immediate Release
October 7, 2004
Media Contacts
John Barnes, Sunburst Shutters, 702-870-4488
jbarnes@sunburstshutters.com or
Shannon Hiller, Vanguard Media Group, 702-383-4002
shiller@vanmedia.com
Cut the Cord on Window Covering Safety Month:
Shutters Are the Solution
The cordless product the mini-blind companies don’t want you to know about
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council have jointly declared October as National Window Covering Safety Month. According to these groups, more than 175 infants and children have died from accidental strangling in window cords since 1991. Last year, 17 children died; the average age was 3 years old.
Mini-blind companies nationwide use the month of October to remind consumers to repair or replace corded window coverings purchased before 2001 with today's safer products. However, they neglect to mention other options for safeguarding the windows in residential homes.
Sunburst Shutters is participating in National Window Covering Safety Month by promoting totally cordless products. Sunburst believes cordless products like interior shutters are the best choice for use in children's bedrooms and other areas of the home for maximum safety.
The louvers in the shutter panel open and close simultaneously on a tilt rod — not a string or cord. In addition, shutter panels screw into a frame that is attached around the window so they are stable and secure.
“Shutters are a safe and beautiful way for parents to decorate their home,” says Dix Jarman, CEO of Sunburst Shutters. “Shutters open and close without cords and they cannot be rolled up and down like mini-blinds. These two features significantly reduce any hazard to children.”
Window covering cords are one of the products most frequently associated with strangulation of children under five. The younger victims, usually between 10 to 15 months of age, typically are in cribs that have been placed near window coverings. In some accidents, parents have simply tied up the pull cord and didn’t think about the inner cord that lifts or raises the blinds up. The inner cord is connected to each slat, holding them in place at an equal distance apart.
Linda Kaiser of St. Louis, Missouri, lost her daughter two years ago from an accident involving the inner cords of her window blinds.
“I did everything they told me to do in my doctor’s safety checklist,” Kaiser said. “I had the pull cords up and away out of my daughter’s reach and she managed to get a hold of the inner cord in an area on the blind that no one would possibly think of and formed a loop that suffocated her.”
After investigating these deaths, Kaiser found out that in the United States at least one child dies every month from a window covering-related accident. “I was floored that there was no safety information or website available that was completely for parents and consumers,” she said. “They were all from the corded industry’s perspective.”
Kaiser started her own group – Parents for Window Blind Safety – to provide unbiased safety advice for parents. “We want the industry to let the public know about ALL the information concerning window blind deaths so the consumer can make an informative decision about placing blinds in their home. We are consistently ignored because the bottom line is if they tell consumers the truth, they will lose money!” said Kaiser.
Dr. Benjamin Hart, Medical Director for the Pediatric Outpatient Department at University Medical Center in Las Vegas believes educating parents is the key to abating these tragic deaths.
“Parents need to become more aware of the danger of strangulation by seemingly harmless window coverings such as mini-blinds,” Dr. Hart said. “No matter what you do, the inner cord will always be a part of the mini-blinds,” Dr. Hart stated. “The only way to completely child-proof your windows is to use a cordless product.”
Although his children are no longer toddlers, Hart realizes that the precautions he and his wife took to keep their children safe weren’t enough.
“When my children were young, we anchored our blinds to the wall and thought that tying up the cords was enough to keep them safe,” says Dr. Hart. “Knowing that this is still a danger to young children, I feel lucky that nothing happened to harm mine.”
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that although redesigned newer window coverings and repaired older window coverings reduce the risk of strangulation, they have not fully eliminated the hazard. Long dangling window cords and chains still pose a strangulation hazard for young children.
“I have young children, and I just want other parents to be aware of these dangers,” Jarman said. “Knowing that there is another option out there for window coverings will help parents make an educated decision about the products they put in their homes.”
More Information
For more information or on Sunburst Shutters, visit www.SunburstShutters.com.
Linda Kaiser, Director for Parents for Window Blind Safety can be reached at 314-494-7890 or Linda@PFWBS.org. The organization’s website is http://www.windowblindskillchildren.org. Statistical information in this press release was provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and can be found at www.cpsc.gov.
