During a time when many of our families are outfitting their nurseries and hanging new blinds or shades, everyone needs to be aware of the dangers of dangling cords. Six companies have issued recalls after three children have died by becoming tangled in cords. The three deaths occurred in 2006 and it has taken the Consumer Product Safety Commission this long to notify the public. It makes me wonder if the death of a one year old killed in 2007 could have been prevented.
I am sad to say that I know someone who lost a child to this very problem over 20 years ago. It's not something you can ever get over, especially when it's preventable. Make sure that your child's crib is not next to the window. This makes sense not only because of the cord, but also because of the window, which could be broken.
Recalled blinds are;
Pottery Barn Kids/Williams Sonoma, Inc. - 85,000 roman shades with exposed inner cords (four kids were found entangled with cords around their necks)
IKEA Home Furnishings - 120,000 Melina Roman blinds (2-year-old found hanging from the looped bead chain).
Vertical Land - 32,000 blinds and shades (death of a 4-year-old girl strangled in the loop of a vertical blind cord not attached to wall or floor).
Lewis Hyman, Inc. - 4.2 million roll up blinds (1-year-old strangled and killed in the lift cord of the roll up blind; a 13-month-old died after his head was caught between exposed cords and cloth on the back side of the shade).
Target - 163,000 Thermal Sailcloth and Matchstick Bamboo roman shades imported by Victoria Classics, sold in 2008 & 2009. They have exposed inner cords.
Lutron Electronics Co. distributed 245,000 roller shades that were sold at specialty dealers and Expo Design Centers from 2000 to April, 2009. There is a looped bead chain that should be attached to floor or wall.
If you own any of these blinds, you should contact the manufacturer for repair or money back. I would suggest taking them down, since no expense is worth the loss of a child. You can download information at the CPSC website and post it at your local day care or school. If you have additional questions or want to research the products and repair options, please go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website at;
http://www.cpsc.gov
2 comments:
A 2.5 year old was killed this way earlier this month. The little boy was adopted and was kept on life support so that his birth mother could also say good-bye. Please keep this family in your prayers and all of them, mothers, sisters and other family members process and grieve this child. We are getting ready to remove all the shade with cords like this out of our house.
Thanks for posting this Tina. Unseen dangers are scary because you don't expect them. Removing those types of blinds is a small price to pay for safety.
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