Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDY — Temperatures are warming, but not too much. It’s the time of year to turn off the heater, open the windows, enjoy the breezes and save energy.
Child safety experts warn, however, that those open windows — especially in two-story homes — can pose a danger for children.
Three Salt Lake Valley toddlers have fallen from second-story windows in just the past two weeks.
Wednesday, a 2-year-old boy fell from a window in his two-story Sandy home. A neighbor was horrified to see the child stand on the windowsill, press against the screen and tumble head first 19 feet below.
They're designed to keep bugs out, but not much else.
–Janet Brooks
Luckily, the boy fell on his back into a flowerbed. He was taken to Primary Children’s Medical Center in serious condition. By Friday, he had returned home and “is well, very active, and jumping up and down on the bed,” said Sandy Police Sgt. John Arnold.
On May 24, Midvale twin boys, ages 2 ½, fell about 15 feet from a window onto a concrete pad. The boys had been put down for a nap, but instead used furniture to climb to the windowsill. They also pressed against the screen and fell out, but somehow escaped serious injury.
Parents need to remember that screens are designed to pop out easily in case of fire, said Primary Children’s child safety specialist Janet Brooks. “They’re designed to keep bugs out, but not much else.”
When your kids are near windows up on second floors, you've just got to be very aware of what they're doing.
–John Arnold
Her recommendation — keeping a close eye on children. “Obviously, the very first thing is supervision,” Brooks said. “That’s probably the biggest thing parents can do” to prevent such tragedy.
“When your kids are near windows up on second floors, you’ve just got to be very aware of what they’re doing,” Arnold said.
But it’s not just parents who need to be concerned, Brooks said, but all caregivers whether grandparents, siblings, relatives or baby sitters. Perhaps only coincidentally, both recent incidents happened under baby sitters’ care.
Furniture and large toys that kids can climb on should be kept away from windows, if possible, Brooks said. And it’s not only dangerous for children to fall out a window, but to fall into a room from a windowsill.
Even when closed, parents should have the habit of locking the window to keep young children from opening them.
Various safety products can also help, such as window guards or stops. But most families won’t go that far for safety. “I very rarely see window guards,” Brooks said, noting that when raising her five children, she never used them either.
If window guards are used, they must be safety-approved with a quick-release button in case of a fire.
Many people don’t realize, but falls are the No. 1 cause of child hospital admissions in the U.S., according to Brooks. That includes all falls — not just from windows, but it can be surprising how many parents aren’t aware of the importance of child safety, she said.
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health asked parents what their greatest concerns for their children were. Most put smoking, drinking, and moral issues such as sexual activity above safety, Brooks said. But more children and teens die from all kinds of accidents than from anything else.
The child safety expert noted that people often perceive safety issues with a skewed perspective. As an example, her son is being sent on his first deployment to Afghanistan as a medevac helicopter pilot, she said.
“It’s probably more dangerous for him to drive back and forth from the base to home, than it is to fly.”
Email: lbrubaker@desnews.com
