This week is National Window Safety Week. It takes place during the first week of April each year. This week is a movement to help families prevent deaths or accidents from window-related incidents. Did you know that around 3,300 accidents a year in the U.S. are related to falls from a window? Most incidents involve very young children. Spring is a great time to catch a nice spring breeze, but it’s also the time that families keep their windows open, which increases the chances of small children falling from a height and sustaining injuries. Everyone should take the necessary actions to keep their families safe.

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HISTORY

The National Safety Council established window safety week in 1997. The first week of April signals the arrival of spring. Accidents seem to happen more frequently around this time because people are starting to open their windows to let in fresh air. The goal of National Window Safety Week is to help families learn ways to prevent window falls. This week also provides information on how windows are critical to escaping a fire or other emergencies that can happen in your house. Children in preschool are usually more susceptible to window falls. They tend to be curious without developing a sense of danger. Around 1300 B.C., the first windows were made from cloth, wood, or animal hide. As time went on, society started developing window safety precautions such as iron bars to keep people safe.

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Tips

You are going to want to start the week off right by checking the window guards, if you haven’t already. You should consider installing stops since they limit the time for which a window can remain open. It’s also important to make notes about potential safety hazards. Try to remember not to leave children unsupervised around those safety hazards. If you can get the family involved and draw some safety plans for your house, that would be great. Designate safety zones or emergency exits in case anything happens. Lastly, don’t place furniture under windows. Children will be able to climb and potentially fall from an open window.

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Facts

The Romans were the first to use glass windows; before them, windows were just holes inside walls. Stained glass was popular in medieval churches during the Middle Ages. Did you know that during the 1600’s, people had to pay higher taxes depending on how many windows they had in their house? They were deemed a luxury to have, so they were taxed more. Lastly, large windows were indicators of a family’s social status in the 1700’s. This plays into the higher taxes; if windows were seen as a luxury to have, it makes sense that the more windows you had, the more wealthy your family looked.

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At Sun Control of Minnesota, we believe in using only the highest-quality products and delivering exceptional customer service at every stage of the installation process. You can trust that Sun Control of Minnesota has the expertise and experience to help keep you and your home safe. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help make your home a safer place.

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