Window Safety Tips for Keeping Children Safe

As outdoor temperatures rise and consumers open windows to bring in fresh air, it's time to practice window safety -- especially when children are present. Nearly 5,000 children are treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments each year for injuries sustained from falling out windows, according to the Safe Kids Worldwide(R) campaign. To help promote greater safety, Pella Corporation has partnered with the National Safety Council, through its Window Safety Task Force, to observe National Safety Week April 20-26.

"Familiarize yourself with the facts about window safety to help protect your loved ones," said Kathy Krafka Harkema, Pella's window safety spokesperson and a member of the Window Safety Task Force. "When it comes to safety, there's no substitute for proper adult supervision when young children are in the home -- especially around open windows or doors."

Pella offers these important tips to help enhance home safety:

1. Keep children's play away from windows, doors and balconies to help prevent an accidental fall or injury.
2. Keep windows closed and locked when not in use. When opening windows for ventilation, open those that a child cannot reach, like the upper sash on a double-hung window.
3. Keep furniture like beds and dressers away from windows. Furniture placed under a window can create an enticement to climb and the potential to fall.
4. Windows provide a secondary means of escape from a burning home. For greater safety, establish your family's emergency escape plan and practice it regularly.
5. When performing repairs or cleaning, make sure windows and doors are not jammed, painted or nailed shut, so they can open for a quick escape in an emergency. If they don't, consider replacement, because windows and doors can be replaced; lives can't.
6. Choosing windows that tilt in for cleaning for greater ease and potential safety, to eliminate the need to climb an exterior ladder.
7. If you are adding window guards or window fall prevention devices, properly install approved guards that meet American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, and feature a quick-release mechanism.
8. If you live in an area subject to hurricanes, consider impact-resistant glass for windows and patio doors to help provide year-round protection from winds, rain and flying debris.
9. Window treatments with traditional cords can contribute to childhood injuries. For added protection, choose blinds and shades with no room-side cords like Pella's Designer Series(R) windows and patio doors, which feature blinds, shades or decorative panels between glass.

Additional window safety tips are available year-round at: http://www.nsc.org/aware/window/.