Summer Window Safety

With the weather all nice and toasty, families are keeping windows open throughout the house to take advantage of breezy summer days. This can certainly pose a serious safety risk for young children. I witnessed a child no more than my son’s age poking his head out of the window of his two-story home. He obviously had climbed something, such as a bed to get up there. And I’ve got a feeling, this wasn’t the first time he had done this. I just hope that his parents prevent him from doing it again.

Dr. Tony Woodward, chief of emergency medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, recorded a safety video which offers parents helpful tips to prevent kids from falling out of open windows. He also shares that almost 5,000 children nationwide fall out of windows each year and children ages 2-5 are at the highest risk. Those are some very scary statistics. Here are some of the tips that he mentioned, but please check out the video for a better visual and additional tips.

• Move furniture and anything your child can climb on away from windows.
• Use window stops or window guards.
• If you must open a window that does not have a stop or guard, open it only 4 inches or less.
• Remember that screens on windows keep bugs out but don’t keep kids in.
• Plant bushes or install soft edging under windows to lessen impact in case of a fall.