How to Make a Blind Safe

Everything You Need To Know About Roller Blinds And Child Safety

A window blind needn’t pose a risk to children these days, as long as they are correctly installed and fitted with the appropriate safety features. We are going to take a look at the ways a blind is made safe for installation in spaces children use and explain best practice when buying and installing a window blind.

You’ll notice as we go through this blog post; there are a series of steps we, as the manufacturer and retailer of your roller blind, follow to ensure the blind is safe but there are some things you have to do to ensure safety.

What are child safe blinds?

A child safe blind is a blind that has features in place to ensure that it does not pose a risk to children. Some blinds are more safe than others simply because it has a different mechanism, whilst others have safety features built into potentially risky parts. These features are required to be supplied with the blind, and you must fit them when you install the blind.

What safety features are supplied with a blind?

Roller blinds and Double Roller blinds come with plenty of child safe features. Firstly, the chain itself is designed to separate if weight is applied. It won’t separate under everyday use, but if a child was to get caught up in it, it will come apart. Don’t worry, you won’t have to buy a new chain – it will just clip back together afterwards.

Preventing a loop from being formed and dangling freely is down to the chain tidy. It pulls the chain taut and holds it close to the wall.

The chain itself will also be made to be at least 1.5 metres above the ground. This keeps it above the reach of a toddler. This is particularly notable for blinds installed outside of a recess, which exposes it to passing kids. The blind is made to ensure that no small child can reach it, as long as there is no furniture nearby for it to stand on.

Where to buy child safe blinds?

Only buy your roller blind from a reputable retailer. Sales pitches aside, DotcomBlinds depends on quality child safety measures to remain legal and to build trust with our customers. As a company, we cannot afford to make mistakes and we certainly can’t afford to cut corners. Others may be less scrupulous so take a couple of minutes to research the company.

Many disreputable businesses will not include child safety measures, cut corners on materials to save money and disregard British safety laws. There is a chance that these cheap blinds are being shipped in from abroad and may not meet the safety requirements that come as standard here in the UK, from child safety right through to fire retardancy. Always buy from a reputable business. While you may find cheaper alternatives elsewhere, buy at your own risk.

What are child safe blind regulations?

DotcomBlinds’ products are tested to meet the regulations outlined in the British and European safety standard EN13120:2009 + A1:2014. Do not buy blinds that do not meet these regulations – they are unsafe. If the manufacturer hasn’t bothered to make a blind to match these standards, the chances are they’ve probably cut other corners too and you’ll be wasting your money.

What kind of blind is best for a child’s area?

Before you order your roller blind you should take a look at the space you want to put in. Be savvy. Don’t put a chain roller blind in a nursery if you feel it poses a potential risk; pick a spring or crank operated one instead. Whilst chain roller blinds are child safe, you can remove the potential for any issues before it has a chance to escalate.

Similarly, if you do plan on using a chain roller blind in a child’s bedroom or nursery, don’t make it easy for kids to get near the window. Move furniture away so that they can’t climb up to the window.

What are the safest blinds around children?

Spring, crank and electric blinds are child safe because there are no chains or dangling cords which a child can get tangled up in. If child safety is a major concern, these chainless blinds should be your first choice. We call this Child Safe Plus.

Think ahead, be safe

It is worth saying as a final thought that a blind in the home with children is not a loaded gun. It should be treated no differently to your cooker, chest of drawers or bath. These items all have potential risk to children, but if you take steps early on to make them safe, keep children away from them and make sure they are not left unsupervised in risky situations, the chance of a harmful situation occurring is greatly limited.

Buy good quality blinds from proven companies who go above and beyond with child safety features. Don’t buy cheap rubbish, install the child safety features that come with the blind and remove the child’s ability to get near it. After all, safety is not up for discussion.

If you would like any more information on child safety, or help finding an appropriate blind for your home, please get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to assist.