Blinds that are Safe for Children
It goes without saying that all Hillarys products conform to European safety legislation, but we show you how to make sure your existing blinds are up to scratch and share some ideas for the safest kind of window products to keep your kids free from harm.
What about cords and chains on blinds?
If you buy a Roller, Venetian, Wooden, Roman or Pleated blind with cords, your Hillarys fitter will also install a discreet little cleat or hook for the cord to wrap around, so there are no loose strings. These are fitted at a minimum height of 1.5m above the ground.
Having a safety device is now a legal requirement even in homes without children, as little ones may visit you from time-to-time. In fact, if you move home and leave your blinds, you have an obligation to make sure they are legally safe.
With certain blinds, you can order a special kind of breakaway chain that will pull apart with excess force. The good news is that they are easy to reassemble if pulled apart by accident.
What about old blinds without safety devices?
If your existing blind is old and does not have a cleat or break chain, please fit a safety device as soon as possible to make your product child-safe. Even if it wasn’t originally bought from us, we will provide you with the right safety device for your blinds free of charge. To find out more visit www.makeitchildsafe.co.uk
Alternatively, you could think about investing in a new blind that is guaranteed to be safe. In fact, there are still lots of cordless products to consider too, which are great for any room in the house but particularly useful for children’s rooms.
Which is the best child-safe window dressing?
There are lots of cordless blinds and other kinds of window dressings that are safe for homes with young children.
- Consider our Perfect Fit frames, which click into place between the beading and glass of a uPVC window, with the blinds fitting within this made-to-measure casing. There are no operating cords at all - instead the blinds are controlled using a simple tab or wand. Our Pleated, Venetian and Roller blinds can all be installed in this way.
Think about a Tab Pleated, Day & Night Transition™ or Trilite™ blind, which are all fitted in the traditional manner but operated with a thumb tab rather than a cord.
Another handy feature of these blinds is that they can be positioned anywhere on the window, so you get more flexible light control. You can also choose some special thermal fabrics which will keep rooms beautifully snug.
- Another option is our cord and chain-free luxury Roller blinds. You operate the blind by adjusting the bottom bar of the blind or the decorative pull.
- Take your Roller blind one step further with a fully motorised option, where your blinds operated with a remote control.
- You could also think about shutters, which are inherently safe by design. We have a wide collection of colours from classic white to custom colours.
- Our Vertical blinds can be wand-operated, so there’s no need for cords or chains. And, of course, curtains are always a safe option.
- Curtains for a pole or on a standard track have no operating cords either.
Other tips on how to be child-safe
Your Hillarys advisor will take care of installing the appropriate child safety devices for you on your fitting day, but there are a couple of additional steps you can take to ensure that your blinds and curtains are child safe:
- Keep all cords and chains out of the reach of children using the safety hooks and cleats which have been fitted for you.
- Loose cords or chains should never be tied together.
- Furniture that children could climb on should be kept away from your windows
