The short answer
Looped cords and chains are the reason many parents rethink window dressings entirely. New blinds are supplied with safety devices, but the risk sits mostly with older blinds already on the wall and with the way they get used day to day.
- Highest risk
- Older looped cords near cots and beds
- Zero-cord options
- Shutters, motorised blinds, spring rollers
- Supplied with new blinds
- Cleats, tensioners or breakaway devices
What the safety standard actually requires
Internal blinds sold in the UK must meet BS EN 13120, which means any accessible cord or chain is either removed by design or restrained by a breakaway or tensioned device fitted at the time of installation. We fit the safety devices as part of the job rather than leaving them in the packet, and we screw tensioners into the reveal, never into plasterboard alone.
Cats are the reason a lot of technically compliant installations still fail. A tensioned side chain is a climbing frame to a young cat, so in homes with cats we steer towards cordless spring rollers, motorised tubes or shutters with no operating cord at all.
Dogs create a different problem at the bottom of the window. A fabric hem at nose height gets pushed, chewed and marked, whereas a shutter bottom rail wipes clean and takes the abuse, which is often what decides the product in a hallway or back room.
Where the hazard actually is
A loop within reach of a cot, bed, sofa or changing table is the recognised danger. Furniture placement is as important as the blind itself, moving a cot away from the window removes most of the exposure immediately.
Pets add a second dimension: cats climb chains and dogs catch cords with a tail. The same fixes help both.
Products that remove cords entirely
Shutters have no cords at all, which is why they are the default recommendation for nurseries and children's bedrooms. Motorised blinds remove the chain and add scheduling. Spring-operated rollers are a lower-cost cordless route for smaller windows.
Where a corded system is still the right product, a wide vertical, for example, the chain should be tensioned to the wall so there is no free loop.
- Nursery, shutters or cordless roller
- Children's bedroom, blackout roller, cordless or motorised
- Playroom, shutters, no trailing hardware
- Landing above stairs, motorised, out of reach entirely
Checking blinds you already have
Walk each room and look for any loop a child could get over their head. Fit the supplied cleat high on the frame and use it every time, or ask us to add a tensioner. Do not simply tie a knot in the cord, that keeps the loop, just shorter.
How we handle it at survey
We ask about ages and room use before recommending anything, and we point out where a cordless option costs little more than the corded one. Every new blind we fit is supplied with its safety device installed, not left in the bag.
Common questions
Are shutters safer than blinds for a nursery?
They remove the cord hazard entirely, so yes on that measure. They also give better blackout control when combined with a blind, which is why nurseries often end up with both.
Can existing blinds be made safer?
Yes, a wall cleat or a chain tensioner removes the free loop. We can supply and fit these when we are on site for other work.
Are motorised blinds worth it for safety?
They eliminate the chain and put the control on a remote or app, which suits high or hard-to-reach windows as well as family rooms. Costs more than a cordless spring roller, so it depends on the window.
What about cords in a rental property?
Landlords are the group who ask us most often. Fitting cordless or shuttered options across a let removes an ongoing risk that changes with every new tenant.