Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: On behalf of the Window Covering Safety Council, we’d like to remind your readers about the potential hazards of outdated window treatments and offer information that is critical to every parent and caregiver. According to information provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, since 1990, more than 200 infants and young children have died from accidentally strangling in window cords.

October marks the fifth annual National Window Covering Safety Month, co-sponsored by the CPSC and the window-covering industry. Please urge your readers to examine their window cords and take the necessary precautions, both during safety month and year-round. Every home should be safe, inside and out, for kids of all ages. Please visit www.windowcoverings.org for more information about window-cord safety. – Peter Rush, executive director, Window Covering Safety Council, New York