My next door neighbours little three year old boy died last night after getting tangled in the vertical blind cord while looking out the window. Please pray for this family during this time of deep distress.
Also, if you have young children and have the type of blinds or curtains that have the cord that forms a loop, cut the cord or tie it up. It could save a life. This is the second such accident in our City in the past year.
Thanks,
Gerry
My God! That’s terrible! Thank you for the warning.
That is so horrible! I am wishing them the strength to survive this tragedy.
For several years, I have been on the CPSC’s email list of recalls, many of which are specifically hazards to children, and so I have been aware of this miniblind hazard and have corrected it in my home. I have also found some children’s products to be recalled that I would never have been aware of–one of the most recent being high lead levels in one brand of sidewalk chalk sold at Target–imagine! The subscription page is:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp
If you have kids, it is well worth getting the regular recall alerts. Even if you don’t have kids, there are occasionally other products recalled as well, such as lighters, chain saws, etc.
Robin
Oh, my God, what a tragedy. My heart aches for them. Thanks for passing on what could save a life.
Please pass on our deepest simpathy. What a shame. 
Besides the cord that raises and lowers the blinds, there have been injuries in the cords that link the blinds together. If you can pull it loose and make a loop large enough for a head to fit through, a child can get caught.
That is a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to all the family and friends affected.
I hesitate to post this here, not wanting to get preachy or minimize this tragic event, but the public health nurse in me has to take advantage of a teaching moment:
I have been on the CPSC mailing list for quite a while, as part of my job. It is amazing what is recalled. If you are someone who purchases second hand products (ebay, garage sales, Goodwill, whatever) or gets hand-me-downs from family and friends, it is IMPERATIVE that you check out the recall list on CPSC before using, especially if it’s a child/baby product. Children have been killed by using products that have been recalled and off the market for several years - some things even recalled more than once - because it’s obtained second hand and the danger unknown. CPSC’s recall list on the website goes back for many, many years so you can check out used items for old recalls.
And another note on miniblinds - many older plastic miniblinds also contain lead, which is released as the sunlight breaks down the plastic in the blinds - even some miniblinds that were sold labeled “lead free” were found to contain lead. Older miniblinds should always be checked to make sure they don’t have lead - you can get simple lead test kits at hardware stores. And if purchasing miniblinds, make sure that they are made in USA as they definitely don’t contain lead - imported ones still may even if they are labelled otherwise (of course, they aren’t supposed to now, but they weren’t supposed to before and they did so I wouldn’t take any chances).
Please don’t ever think that it won’t happen to you or to your child - this awful circumstance shows that it can.
Beth
That is sad beyond words…
and thanks for the link, I did not know about this site, but with a grandaughter now- I just signed up.
This family shall be in my prayers!!
Very very sad and such a tragedy. I’ll be thinking of the family. I won’t have any blinds in my house as when I was three years old I saw my French Grandmother take a cloth and run it across a strip. To my horror it cut through the cloth and very deeply between her thumb and first finger. She had to have tendon surgery. I know this was 1953 ish but even now I go cold thinking about it.
The other cord to be careful with, when children are around, are the cords or chains that are used to open curtains on a track. My friend’s son got entangled in the bead chain once but we heard him and managed to break the chain.