Practicing Window Safety: Keeping Your Kids Safe

Windows are essential to your family’s survival in the event of a house fire, but at the same time, they also present a risk to your kids. In its 2015 report, non-profit organization Safe Kids revealed more than 3,300 kids end up in the hospital after falling out of windows and roughly eight children aged under five died after they fell.

To help prevent such tragedies, Renewal by Andersen® of Knoxville, your local window company, will join the National Safety Council’s Window Safety Task Force in observing Window Safety Week from April 7-13. We recommend observing the following steps to help keep your kids safe.

Preventing Window Falls

• Make windows more inaccessible to children – Remove furniture near your windows. Left unsupervised, kids might use these to climb onto the ledges or sills.

• Only open hard-to-reach windows – If you need more ventilation, open the windows on the upper end of the wall and make sure the opening isn’t more than four inches.

• Install window-opening control devices or window guards – Window screens are no substitute for window guards and opening control devices; a screen is too flimsy to prevent a child from falling off a window. To make sure the devices are properly installed, call a qualified window contractor.

Preventing Window Cord Strangulation

Windows falls aren’t the only risk to your kids; the Consumer Product Safety Commission says roughly one child per month dies from window cord strangulation while another child ends up needing treatment from the hospital. To minimize the risk of strangulation, you can replace your window coverings with cordless varieties or ones with inaccessible cords.

Just to be safe, it might be better to get newer replacement windows that use the latest child safety technology. Newer models are likely to have locking mechanisms that stop children from opening windows by themselves.

If you’re considering getting a new window, choose a brand with a reputation for sturdy windows. Renewal by Andersen has spent over 100 years building a reputation as a manufacturer of quality windows. For inquiries about child-proof windows, you can call Renewal by Andersen of Knoxville at (866) 609-5033 or fill out this form. We serve clients in Knoxville, TN as well as other areas of Tennessee.