What a Nursery Needs: Window Coverings

Okay you have a new floor, clean walls, what is next? Let’s look at the window.

Are they chipped, cracked, or drafty? You should get these fixed now. Trust me you don’t want strange people working in the nursery when you want to put your baby down for a nap, or worse, after they pooped straight up their back, for the second time that day. Oh yeah, that happens.

Okay now the windows are fixed and sealed. Now decided what kind of window treatment you would like to have. Curtains, blinds or shades? Don’t wait until after the baby is born to decide, or you will have to use a blanket and that is just a pain to take down and put up every day. I would recommend that you shut the door and turn off the light to see just how much light comes into the room during the morning, afternoon and night. You might not need to buy room-darkening shades. You can hang a sheet up and see exactly how much light comes through.

Wal-Mart has a very reasonable room darkening shades for $20. 00, that is a good price for every one's budget. I bought them to give them a try, they work.

If you are going to use blinds, shades or curtain, if they have cords please make sure they are out of reach. Babies and children love dangling anything.

Looped cords that are used with window drapes, blinds, and shades are a serious danger to young children. Here is a great website to look into safety for blinds. http://www.windowcoverings.org/index.html They even have recommendations for save blinds, etc.


According to a study published in a June 1997 Journal of the American Medical Association article, it is estimated that:
359 children were strangled by window covering cords from 1981 to 1995, which is equivalent to one strangulation every two weeks.
Nearly half (49 percent) of the strangulation's go unreported.
Almost all the deaths (93 percent) were children three years old and younger.
Most strangulation's occurred when the parents thought the child was safe, such as in their rooms or in their bed or crib.
Two common scenarios were found:
Infants playing or sleeping in their cribs near windows got caught and tangled in the looped cords of the window treatment.
Toddlers, while trying to look out a window or climbing on furniture, lost their footing and were wrapped in the cord.

Please don't place cribs, furniture or toys by windows help keep your baby safe while in there room.