Why Cribs Must Be Located Away From Window Blinds Or Drapes?
Why Cribs Must Be Located Away From Window Blinds Or Drapes?
Avoid placing a crib or any other child’s bed near a window to avoid the most serious of falls and to keep children from becoming entangled in cords from hanging window blinds or draperies and strangling. If possible, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends using cordless window coverings.
If corded, use a cord shortened to reduce the length of the exposed cords significantly. Remove all corded window coverings from the room of a child under 6 years of age. Properly secure shades so that they do not drape over the sides of cribs, beds, or playpens.
Keep draperies and blinds away from cribs to avoid entrapment or strangulation by cords. Do not place furniture in front of windows that could interfere with opening window coverings quickly in an emergency.
Don’t place them above a bed or next to cribs. This is especially true of toxic and noxious gases that are trapped within the coating itself. Both toxic gasses and organic solvents should never be placed in, around, on, under, or near a child’s crib.
Do not place window coverings or blinds in the same room where the smoke detector is located and could be covered by debris from a fire. The most dangerous components of fire are those that are released during combustion, such as particulate matter and carbon particles.
Carbon monoxide is another dangerous gas that is emitted when there is a fire. These fumes give off carbon monoxide and can cause serious health effects.
These fumes are also heavier than air, which means they will sink to the lowest point in the room. If placed directly under a window, you could suffocate or die before ever knowing there was a fire.
