How do I make blind cords safe for young children?

What the UK safety requirements actually demand, how to secure or remove every loop in a house, and why cot and bed positions matter as much as the blind itself.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 30 min
Read: 5 min
Safety: warning

Short answer

Every looped cord or chain must be secured tight to the wall with the supplied cleat or tension device, so no loop can form, and any free cord ends must have breakaway connectors. Nothing loose should hang within 1.5m of the floor. Move cots, beds and anything climbable away from windows. In a child's room, cordless or motorised blinds remove the hazard entirely and are the right choice.

This is one of the few household risks where the mechanism is completely understood and the fix is cheap, quick and certain. A loop of cord at the side of a window is at exactly the height of a small child, and a child who becomes entangled cannot get free. Since 2014 blinds sold in the UK have had to be supplied safe by design or with safety devices fitted, but every home has older blinds, and safety devices are routinely left in the packet.

Safety

Looped blind cords and chains are a documented strangulation risk to young children, and the deaths that have occurred involved ordinary blinds in ordinary rooms. A loop long enough to pass over a small child's head is the hazard, and toddlers are most at risk because they are tall enough to reach a cord and not strong or coordinated enough to free themselves. If there is a looped cord within reach of a child anywhere in your home, deal with it today — do not wait for a replacement blind.

What you'll need

The cleat, tension device or breakaway connectors supplied with the blind
Drill and fixings for the wall type
Cord safety kit, if the originals are missing
Scissors, for shortening cords (optional)

Step by step

Walk every room and find every loop.Roller and vertical blind chains, roman blind cords, venetian cord loops, and any tie-back or cord tidy. Include rooms children only visit — spare bedrooms, bathrooms and landings are where unsecured cords survive longest.
Fix the cleat or tensioner to the wall, tight.The supplied device screws to the wall or the window frame and holds the chain or cord under tension so no slack loop can form. It must be fixed, not hooked over something, and the cord must be genuinely taut. A cleat that is only used sometimes is not a safety device.
Fit breakaway connectors on any free cord ends.These are small plastic fittings that separate under a light load. They go on the free ends of pull cords and on cord joins, and they are the reason a modern blind is safe by design. Kits are inexpensive and universal.
Keep everything above 1.5m from the floor.This is the height used in the UK safety requirements. Any cord, chain, loop or cord end that can reach below it needs shortening, securing or removing.
Shorten cords rather than tying them up.A cord looped over a hook or knotted up looks tidy and creates exactly the loop that is dangerous. Cut it to length and refit the safety fittings properly.
Move the furniture, not just the cord.Cots, beds, sofas, chairs, changing tables, toy boxes — anything a child can stand on or sleep beside — go well away from the window. A secured cord and a cot pushed under the window is still a bad arrangement.
Choose cordless in children's rooms.Cordless roller blinds, spring blinds, wand-operated verticals, and motorised or battery blinds have no accessible loop at all. In a nursery or a child's bedroom this is the right answer rather than the expensive one.
Check any blind that came with the house or was bought second-hand.Pre-2014 blinds may have no safety devices at all and no cleat in the packet. Retrofit kits with cleats, tensioners and breakaway connectors are sold cheaply and fit almost anything.
Tell everyone who looks after the children.Grandparents' houses, childminders, holiday lets and rentals are where unsecured cords are most often found. It is a reasonable and easy thing to raise.
Re-check after any change.A room rearranged, a bed moved, a blind replaced, a cord replaced. Each of those puts the arrangement back in play.

Tips

Retrofit safety kits cost very little and fit most blind types. There is no situation where the cost is a reason to leave a loop unsecured.
In a rental, fitting a cord cleat is exactly the kind of small safety fixing a landlord will agree to in writing, and most would rather you did it.
If a blind cannot be made safe today, take the cord off the blind entirely and operate it by hand until the safety fittings arrive.

Common mistakes

Tying the cord in a knot or looping it over a hook — It creates the loop rather than removing it, and it comes undone. Use the fixed cleat or tension device, or shorten the cord.
Fitting the cleat but only using it sometimes — The hazard exists whenever the cord is loose. A safety device that depends on someone remembering is not doing the job.
Securing the cord and leaving the cot under the window — Position is half the risk. Move cots, beds and climbable furniture away from windows regardless of the cord arrangement.
Assuming a newer blind is automatically safe — It was supplied with devices, but they are frequently left in the packaging or removed later. Check each blind physically.

If it doesn't work

The blind came with no cleat or safety device

Cause: Older blind, or the parts were lost — Fix: Buy a retrofit safety kit — cleats, tensioners and breakaway connectors are universal and inexpensive. Fit them today.

The cord is too long even when cleated

Cause: Standard cord length for a taller window — Fix: Cut it shorter and refit the breakaway connector to the new end. Nothing should reach below 1.5m from the floor.

The tension device will not stay on the wall

Cause: Fixed into plasterboard or crumbling plaster — Fix: Use a proper fixing for the wall type. The device has to stay put under a pull — a failed tensioner leaves a loose loop.

A child's bed has been moved next to the window

Cause: Room rearranged after the blind was made safe — Fix: Move it back, or fit a cordless blind at that window. Re-check the whole room after any rearrangement.

Questions people ask

Are looped blind cords really dangerous?

Yes. Looped cords and chains are a recognised strangulation hazard to young children in the UK, and fatalities have happened with ordinary blinds in ordinary homes. Toddlers are most at risk. Since 2014 blinds sold here must be safe by design or supplied with safety devices, but older blinds and unfitted devices are everywhere.

Is a cord cleat enough on its own?

A cleat works only if the cord is wound onto it and taut every single time. A tension device that holds the chain permanently taut is better, because it does not rely on anyone remembering. Best of all is a blind with no accessible loop at all.

What blinds are safe in a child's bedroom?

Cordless roller and spring blinds, wand-operated verticals and venetians, and motorised or battery-operated blinds. None of them has a loop within reach. In a nursery this is worth the extra outright, and keep the cot away from the window regardless.