4 Wooden Blinds Safety Tips All Parents Should Follow

Wooden blinds can be beautiful additions to your Pittsburgh home. With the variety of wood types, they are easy to work with any décor and style. You can add them on their own or with curtains and drapes to create more privacy and benefits. However, wooden blinds tend to come with cords, and that can worry parents. Here are four safety tips all parents should follow with their blinds.

1. Keep All Furniture Away

Whether you have cords hanging down or not, keeping furniture away from your wooden blinds is a good habit. Children will climb, and you don’t want damaged blinds! However, with cords, keeping the furniture away from the windows is especially important. You won’t want anything a small child can climb up onto, grabbing the cords and pulling the cords towards them.

This includes all types of furniture in every room. Keep the crib away from the windows in the bedroom and the living room window couch-free.

2. Secure the Cords Away

When you have wooden blinds, you may be able to get a cordless option. But if you do have cords, you need to find a way that will keep the cords completely out of reach. The best thing to do is to get cleats that will allow you to completely wrap the cords up when they’re not in use. You also can get hooks that hold the cords in place, keeping the tension in them to avoid knots and loops forming.

Even when you have these, avoid placing furniture close to the window. Babies and children will work out how to unravel the cords! You also want to make sure there’s no way that the cords will unravel themselves.

3. Consider a Cord Guide

If you have longer cords and need the loop, then you’ll want to install a cord guide. This helps to keep the cord in place and avoids it from pulling away from the wall by small hands. When you have loops for wooden blinds that drop close to the floor, you’ll certainly need to install cord guides. The last thing you want is children to become tangled accidentally when playing.

Test your guide and cleats to ensure they can withstand a pull of force. Children will try hard and you’ll be surprised at their strength!

4. Keep a Good Line of Sight

Don’t leave children unsupervised in rooms. If you can’t be in the same room, then at least have cameras installed so you can watch carefully. You need to make sure children aren’t getting up to mischief when they think your back is turned. When you can see, you can act immediately to avoid the dangers.

It’s time to make your rooms safe. Wooden blinds are beautiful additions to your Pittsburgh home, but they also can be dangerous if you don’t follow the above four tips. Keep them in mind, whether the cords are long, short, looped, or not even in your child’s bedroom. Or ask your local Budget Blinds Style Consultant for the best options to fit your home's needs.