Kids Can't Fly - Child Window and Balcony Safety

Rates of children falling from windows and balconies are increasing at an alarming rate. Many falls result in serious injury and sadly, many children never recover.

The distressing statistics speak for themselves, from January 1998 to 8 November 2011, 210 children were admitted to The Children's Hospital at Westmead following a window or balcony fall. Of these cases, 113 were due to a window fall and 97 cases were due to a balcony fall.

Earlier this year in Sydney, a two-year-old boy fell through the fly screen of a fourth story kitchen window onto a concrete driveway below while his mother was momentarily distracted. Although the fall was unwitnessed, it was thought that the child landed directly on his head, he suffered a severe open head injury. The child was unresponsive at the scene and transferred to the Children's Hospital at Westmead via Careflight. Tragically the child died in hospital as a result of the severe head injuries.

To prevent children from falling out of windows or from balconies, parents and carers of children under five years need to know the following safety tips:

Window Safety

• Fit window latches or locks to stop windows opening more than 10cm on all windows above the ground floor.
• Open windows from the top where possible
• Keep beds and other furniture away from windows so that children cannot climb up to windows
• Do not rely on a fly screen to prevent a child falling out of a window
• Supervise your child when they are near windows
• Teach your child to play away from windows

Balcony Safety

• Balcony balustrades (railings) should be at least 1 metre high
• Vertical bars in the balustrade should be no more than 10cm apart
• Balustrades should not have any horizontal or near horizontal parts that would allow children to climb
• Keep all furniture, pot plants and other climbable objects away from the balcony edge (be aware of light furniture that children could drag over to the edge)
• Always supervise children on balconies
• Keep doors leading to balconies locked to prevent child access to them

For FREE brochures and posters to display in your surgery please contact Kids Health at the Children's Hospital at Westmead (Ph: 9845 3585).

A large amount of information is also available for download at, http://kidshealth.chw.edu.au/projects/falls-windows-and-balconies

Resources

Falling From Buildings

Safety Product Guide