Child safe blinds are now compulsory for homes in the UK to stop young children from strangling themselves. Different blinds have different safety devices fitted to them.
But what options do you have for child safe blinds? We’ll go through them here.
Vertical blinds
There are two options with vertical blinds:
- The wand system: Works like a cord and chain vertical blind, but has a plastic rod or wand instead of the cord
- ‘P’ bracket: The cord and chain has a bracket attached and fixed to the wall with a screw
In a wand system, you use the wand to tilt the slats. A ‘P’ bracket stops loops from forming in the cord to stop children from strangling themselves.
Tip: In a ‘P’ bracket, make sure your chain and cord loops finish 1.5 metres from the ground so that children can’t reach them.
Roller blinds
Roller blinds have two child safe options too:
- ‘P’ bracket that works in the same way as vertical blinds
- Double chain break: Two parts join onto the chain which make the chain break apart if it is put under a weight strain
Remember: a double chain break is only child safe if there are two chain break parts 20cm apart on the chain.
Venetian blinds
There’s just one option with venetian blinds. Fit a cleat to the frame to make them child safe blinds. You must fit it as high as possible.
You’ll need to make sure that you wrap the cords around the blind when you’re not using them to keep them out of children’s reach.
Roman blinds
You’ll need a ‘P’ bracket for Roman blinds. It’s the only way to make Roman blinds child safe as the chain is continuous, so you can’t use the double chain break system.
So which type will you choose? Read our blog on the different types of blinds to help make your decision.