by Julie Viola
There are dangers and hazards attributed to Roman shade and roll up blinds. These types of window blind coverings or treatments can really hurt children or worst death may occur. Some people would suggest that using cordless window blinds is the better choice as they do not pose dangers to children through strangulation. So the question now is how or why these types of product pose any danger to children?
If you have a Roman shades for your treatments or coverings, the danger of strangulation is a reality. A child might place the cord in his or her neck between through the exposed inner cord and the fabric of the blinds. It can also be dangerous when the child wraps it around his or her neck and then pull it out. The reality is that these products have this problems for quite some time but there was not much attention to it since there is little media coverage or exposure of the hazards of the products.
Fortune blinds men when she does not wish them to withstand the violence of her onslaughts.
—Titus Livius (Livy)
If your house or room has the roll up blind, strangulation can also occur when by lifting the loop slides off of the side of the blind and his or her neck gets entangled in the loop. It can also be hazardous to a child when he or she got their neck between the lifting loop and the roll up blind.
In the years between 1994 and 2000, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council announced recalls to repair horizontal blinds to prevent cord strangulation hazards (according to Examiner.com article of December 15, 2009). This shows the hazards and dangers of these particular products. The industry even offered free repair kits as a result.
But there are things you can do in order to prevent any of these dangers or hazards from happening. First and foremost is to make sure that there are no accessible cords on the front, back and the side of the product. And do no place furniture, beds and especially cribs near your windows where a child can have access to it. And best advice yet is to use cordless window blinds.
While the dangers and hazards are indeed real, there is always some solutions to this problem as the industry is carefully monitoring these products are getting into the market. We need to be more responsible and look at these cords as dangerous to children and hazards as well. Knowing this dangers can really help us prevent any untoward incidents in the future. Prevent and Avoid the Danger and Hazards of Roman Shade and Roll Up Blind, Instead use Cordless Window Blinds Even If You Are Looking For Blackout Window Blinds for your Window Treatments and Coverings.