Are Venetian Blinds Child Safe?

Venetian Blinds and Child Safety

Child safety is a key concern when it comes to picking a blind, and understandably, the fundamental parts of a venetian blind could lend themselves to child safety issues, if installed incorrectly.

However, our venetian blinds come with features to remove the key risks. They are made with safety in mind and come with features to aid this. With a little forethought and planning and making sure you fit all of the safety devices, you will know your venetian blind is safe. It is a legal responsibility for professional installers to fit the safety devices that come with a blind, so seeing as it is a subject taken so seriously by the industry, you should too.

In support of Family Safety Week, an awareness week by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), we’re taking a look at the ways in which a venetian blind is made child safe. For more general blind safety information, take a look at this blog post.

Are venetian blinds child safe?

Yes, to an extent. If installed correctly and out of reach of children, our venetian blinds are child safe. The main area that provides a risk to the child is the dangling cords, of which there could be a number of loops. The ends of these cords should be secured at the bottom by a breakaway tassel, which comes as standard with our venetian blinds.

What is a venetian blind breakaway tassel?

A venetian blind breakaway tassel serves the purpose of neatly holding all the ends of the cords. The breakaway part comes when weight is applied, which will cause the plastic to separate. It is very easy to put back together once it has been separated.

What is a venetian blind cleat?

A venetian blind cleat allows you to wrap the cord around it when it is not in use. This stores the cord out of reach of children and helps to keep the cord looking neat. These come as standard with all venetian blinds.

Good practice and Child Safe Plus blinds

So, with the main concerns taken care of with strong safety measures, we turn our attention to general blind safety best practice. As we’ve said previously, we have many types of child safe blinds which may be a more suitable alternative for your home.

We have spring, crank and electrically operated roller blinds that have no cords at all, eliminating the risk of entanglement. On our website we call this Child Safe Plus and it is a feature we’re really proud of. For a blind to be considered Child Safe Plus, it must have zero opportunities for a child to become entangled.

If you are concerned but have chosen a venetian blind, you can take some simple measures for added child safety.

- Do not put any furniture near the window that could allow a child to climb up and get close to the blind.

- Do not tie cords or chains together.

- Always fit the safety devices that come with the blind as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

- Get in touch with us if you have any questions. No question is minor, or silly, especially when it comes to child safety.

- Visit www.makeitsafe.org.uk for more information on window blind safety.

So, relax, take a look through our collection of venetian blinds – the safety devices come with the blind automatically, no need to specify.