Hundreds of young children have been strangled on cords from window blinds, shades, and curtains in the past 50 years. Officials and manufacturers knew about the danger — why didn’t they do more sooner?

Whether consumers are moving into a new home or renovating it, or welcoming a new child into the family, it is imperative to be aware of one of the most serious hazards in homes—window covering cords that entangle infants and children. 

“Young children can quickly and silently become strangled on pull cords, continuous loop cords, inner cords or any other accessible cords on window coverings,” CPSC Chairman Alex Hoehn-Saric. “Cordless window blinds, shades, draperies and other window coverings are the safest option.” 

The hidden danger from corded window coverings can blindside anyone; tragedies can happen even when an adult is nearby. According to CPSC data:

On average, about nine children under 5 years of age die every year from strangling in window blinds, shades, draperies, and other window coverings with cords.

There were more than 200 incidents involving children up to 8 years old due to strangulation hazards from window covering cords during 13 years from January 2009 through December 2021.

A child died in 48% of those incidents.
Injuries varied from a scar around the neck to quadriplegia, and permanent brain damage.

Babies put to sleep in their cribs reach out and grab cords dangling from the window blinds above them.

Young children pretend window coverings are superhero capes, or that the beaded operating cords are necklaces. 

When cords from blinds, curtains and shades get caught around children’s necks, they can cut off airflow, preventing victims from calling for help. 

Children can lose consciousness in as little as 15 seconds.

After two to three minutes, it can be too late to save them.

NBC News found that at least 440 children ages 8 and under have been strangled to death on window covering cords since 1973, based on statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as internal federal data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. 

Most who died were toddlers. 

The CPSC, which is tasked with protecting the public from dangerous products, has known about this hazard for decades. Yet more than 40 years after the agency acknowledged the threat, children are still dying.

July 22, 1989: Reuben Vollmer, 17 months, is strangled by a window cord in his crib

Reuben Vollmer, a quiet and happy toddler, goes down for a nap in his crib on a Saturday afternoon. 

When his mother, Shirah Vollmer, checks on him later, she finds the dangling pull cord of the horizontal blinds around his neck.

“It was shock, and horror,” Vollmer says.

She untangles Reuben and performs CPR, but after he’s rushed to the hospital, he is pronounced dead. 

Aug. 18, 1998: Hannah Beller, 16 months, dies after getting entangled in a window blind cord

Elizabeth Raver puts her 16-month-old daughter, Hannah Beller, down for a nap in a playpen at a beach house on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where the family is on vacation. 

Elizabeth Raver feels confident that she has childproofed the house: She has plugged in outlet covers that she brought with her, and when she places Hannah down to sleep, she makes sure the pull cord of the blinds is out of reach.

But Hannah, who likes to play in her crib after she wakes up, is still able to grab the inner cord of the blinds. When her father, Eric Beller, checks on her, he discovers her hanging from the inner cord. He starts screaming. 

“I don't know how she got herself up to do it,” he says. “We had no idea that this was a danger.” 

At the hospital, Hannah is pronounced dead. 

June 12, 2002: Cheyenne Rose Kaiser, 12 months, dies in the bedroom she shares with her twin brother

Linda Kaiser puts her 1-year-old twins, Cheyenne and Seth, in their cribs at the family’s home in suburban St. Louis. The twins like to babble and laugh with each other before falling asleep.

Later that evening, Kaiser and her husband, along with their 5-year-old daughter, peek into the room to check on the babies, expecting to find them sleeping peacefully.  

Instead, Cheyenne is sitting straight up, her chin drooping toward her chest. She has been strangled by the inner cord that runs through the center of the window blind behind her crib. 

Kaiser runs over and removes the cord from her daughter’s neck. 

“I knew by the feel of her, the temperature of her, that she was gone,” Kaiser says. “I was praying to God for miracles.”

By the end of 2002, at least 273 children have died

Oct. 17, 2013: Colton Shero, 23 months, is strangled in his family room

Erin Shero goes to check on her youngest, Colton, who is just shy of his second birthday, and finds him near the end of the sectional couch. Unaware that the pull cord of the window blinds is knotted around his neck, Shero initially thinks he is sleeping. 

“When I got to him, I touched him and his head rolled,” she says. “It was disbelief, and I kept trying to wake him up.”

Frantic, Shero removes the cord and tries to find a pulse. As she waits for an ambulance, she does CPR on Colton in her front yard. Roofers who are working next door rush over and pray.

Colton is pronounced dead at the hospital.

By the end of 2013, at least 379 children have been strangled to death on window covering cords

Dec. 7, 2016: Presley Eastburn, 4, dies days after getting caught in a window cord

On a Friday evening, Presley is in the TV room at the family’s home in League City, Texas, watching one of her favorite Disney shows. Eastburn is in her bedroom, talking on the phone with her husband, who is out of town for work. 

Eastburn calls Presley to say hello to her dad, and when she doesn’t respond, Eastburn goes to check on her. She finds her daughter hanging by the neck from the beaded cord that raises and lowers the Roman shades.  

By the end of 2022, at least 440 children have been strangled to death on window cords since 1973.  The CPSC estimates that every year, about 9 children under the age of 5 are still strangled to death on window cords.

For children’s safety, consumers should buy and install cordless window coverings (labeled as cordless) in all rooms where a child may be present.

If consumers are unable to replace existing window coverings with cordless ones, CPSC recommends the following safety steps:

Eliminate any dangling cords by making the pull cords as short as possible.

Keep all window covering cords out of the reach of children.

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

Anchor to the floor or wall continuous-loop cords for draperies and blinds.

Move all cribs, beds, furniture, and toys away from windows and window covering cords, preferably to another wall.

For more information, visit CPSC’s Window Covering Safety Education Center. 

Please share and warn parents of this hidden danger.

Sources: NBC / CPSC