Tips for Child Safety while On Vacation

A trade group you’ve probably never heard of is offering some helpful tips on making sure your summer home, hotel or rental is safe for kids.

The group –called The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) – points out that dangers exist for parents who are settling into temporary living space while on holiday.

Before you laugh at the name of this group, think about this: window covering manufactures — like other makers of household gear — face lawsuits when things go awry for users of their products. So, they spend a lot of time thinking about safety.

The Council warns that children are especially vulnerable when staying in unfamiliar dwellings during a summer vacation, and they offer the following steps to help parents prevent tragedy:

* Move all furniture, cribs, chairs, beds and climbable items away from windows.

* Be sure rental cribs are in good repair and meet current safety requirements.

* Inspect the house for and dispose of medications that may have been left by the previous occupants.

* Secure household chemicals in cabinets with child locks.

* If you have a balcony, make sure all openings are properly sealed with netting, gates, or wood.

* Whenever possible, open windows from the top – instead of the bottom.

* Make sure that tasseled pull cords are as short as possible.

* Check that cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit the movement of inner lift cords.

Now, going around and making these checks and changes is probably the last thing you feel like doing when getting into your vacation digs after a long trip, but there’s no better time to do them than right after you’ve arrived.

So, why not print out this list of tips and bring it along on your trip?