Choosing Blinds for Homes with Children

What usually matters

• The control type – cords, chains, wands, spring or motorised operation.
• Safety devices – where a cord or chain control is used, the required devices must be fitted.
• Installation – where controls sit and how they are secured.
• The room layout – cots, beds and climbable furniture near windows.
• Everyday use – controls that are easy for adults to use and not tempting for children.

The requirements

Internal blinds supplied in the UK must meet child-safety requirements, and industry guidance from the British Blind and Shutter Association explains safer-by-design approaches. In practice we supply blinds that meet those requirements, fit the safety devices required for the chosen control, and explain how they work when we hand over.

Often a good fit

• Motorised blinds – no cords or chains at all, operated by remote or switch depending on the system.
• Cordless controls – available on selected pleated and cellular and other systems, operated by hand or wand.
• Perfect Fit blinds – fitted in the window frame with no loose cords.
• Shutters – operated by hand, with no cords.
• Curtains on tracks or poles – hand-drawn curtains avoid cords; any corded track needs appropriate safety fittings.

Depends on the product

• Chain-operated rollers and verticals can be supplied with the required tensioning or retention devices, correctly installed. They are a practical option where fitted and used as intended.
• Venetian and wooden blinds vary by control system; wand-operated versions reduce loose cords.
• Roman blinds use internal cords that must be managed with the correct safety components.

Usually avoid or assess carefully

• Older blinds with looped cords or chains and no safety device.
• Removing or bypassing a safety device because it seems inconvenient – it is there for a reason.
• Assuming a blind is safe because it looks cordless in a picture; the specific control supplied is what matters.
• Placing cots, beds or climbable furniture beneath or beside a window with a blind control.

Motorisation is not the only safe choice. A correctly supplied and installed blind with the right safety devices is also suitable; motorisation simply removes cords altogether.

What we check

• Which control suits the window and the people using it.
• Where the control will sit relative to furniture.
• That the required safety devices are fitted and secure.
• That you know how the controls and safety devices work before we leave.

By room

For children’s bedrooms, where darkness also matters, see blinds for nurseries and children’s rooms. For the wider question of bedrooms, see bedroom blinds.

Visiting children and grandchildren

Safety is worth thinking about even if children only visit occasionally, for example in a spare room used by grandchildren. The same principles apply: choose a suitable control, make sure safety devices are fitted and in use, and keep beds and furniture away from blind controls. Where a room is used by different people, a control that needs no cords at all is often the simplest answer.

If you have older blinds you are unsure about, we can look at them during a free home survey and suggest whether to replace them.