When preparing your home for a new baby or child-proofing it in general, you take every precaution. You make sure that you cover unused electrical outlets, lock up household cleaners and vitamins and put bumpers on sharp corners. But did you ever think about your window coverings?

According to the information provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, since 1991, they’ve received reports of 174 strangulation deaths involving cords and chains on window coverings. They’ve also had reports of 152 deaths involving outer-pull cords, which raise and lower the blind, and 22 deaths involved the inner-cords, which run through the window blind slats.

Below are some helpful tips when considering the purchase of window coverings for your home.

The best window covering is a covering with no cords. It’s just a simple light touch of the base and up they go. If the budget allows, there are also window coverings that operate with a simple switch of a button from your remote or wall switch.

Safety wands also help to eliminate loop cords. Make sure they are short enough to be out of reach from little hands.

Take caution if the window coverings you want come with cords. Long cords are a safety hazard. The same goes for tying a knot in the cord to make it shorter. You have just made extra loops for a child or pet to become entangled in. Some modern window coverings are made with cords that stay the same short length whether the window covering is lowered or raised. If the window covering has a continuous cord loop, make sure it is anchored to the wall or floor.

Looking at a Roman shade, it may not look like a major child safety issue. It has the normal cords that you would see on most window coverings, but flip over the back of that shade. There are many cords and loops that are used to help bring that shade up and down and at the same time giving the folded look that a makes a Roman shade famous.

If you’ve decided to go with drapery panels as a way to eliminate the chance of a safety hazard, think again. Are they pulled back with tie backs? A child could be curious about a curtain, pull on it and become entangled in the tie back. A short decorative window topper is best to dress up a window.

Choosing the right window covering is an important step in preventing an unfortunate accident in your home. You also want to make sure that you move all cribs, beds, and furniture away from windows so little ones won’t have the urge to climb onto the windows. And lastly, keep windows closed when children are present or install window guards.

Chantel Wolters is a Certified Interior Decorator and owns Decor&You in Maple Valley and Renton. Contact her at cwolters@decorandyou.com