Home Safety

When it comes to getting your home ready for baby, window safety is probably one of the most overlooked home safety tips. Why is window safety important? Because kids fall out of window. A lot.

When someone asks me about my job as a Pediatric Trauma Nurse Practitioner, their first comment is always, “oh my goodness, that must be so hard!”

My response is, yes and no. I feel that I am called to help these sweet precious kids and their families in their time of need and give them the best care possible. I can’t prevent bad things from happening. What I can do is help the child and family heal and get them back to their lives. Sometimes their lives take on a “new normal” because of the child’s injuries, but most of the time it goes back to their normal life and they can move on without needing too much extra support.

But, I will tell you what IS hard – when I see a sweet little baby with severe injuries that are preventable.

Do you have any idea how many children fall out of windows?
A lot.

I have seen all age kids fall out of windows – from 6 months to 9 years old. Some of them die. The little ones usually don’t make it because they fall directly on their head. I don’t say tell you this to scare you – but I also say this to scare you in to taking action to make sure your home is safe and this doesn’t happen to you!

Window Safety Tips You MUST Follow

Here are tips to prevent a child from falling out of a window in your home:

1, A window screen will NOT prevent a child from falling out of a window.

2. If you have low windows, NEVER open the window all the way.

3. You should only open windows 4-6 inches, no more than that.

4. Do not put furniture like beds or dressers next to a window. Most of the catastrophic falls I have seen were because a child climbed up on the bed or dresser, and fell out the window.

5. Do not let your child sit on the window sill.

6. The best way to prevent window falls is by getting some cheap and easy to install window locks. These prevent your child from opening all the way and accidentally falling out.

Once again, window screens do NOT prevent kids from falling out of a window.

These window locks are cheap and SO easy to use. Buy them now so you don’t forget. (affiliate)

Guys, since window locks are SO simple to use, there is no reason not to have them on all your windows. They sell many different types so even if your child is a Houdini and gets into everything, they have locks that will work for you and every type of window you have.

Living in southern California we probably see more falls out of windows year-round than other parts of the country because the weather is always nice. And like my house, if you don’t have air condition, it is necessary to have the windows open.

So, on some days, my job is hard. I have to comfort parents when they tell me “it was preventable.” So yes, it was an accident. But a preventable one.

Be safe friends.

You got this!