With temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s next week, experts at Connecticut Children’s reinforced the importance of safety as people begin to open their windows.
With temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s next week, experts at Connecticut Children's reinforced the importance of safety as people begin to open their windows.
“I think parents should be very astute as to the window falling and having the window open period without having any protection in there,” said James Thomas, of Hartford.
As temperatures go up, often times, so do windows and that means extra attention for those living with young children.
“Make sure you’re supervising play with your kids. If they are near an open window and especially if the drop from the window to the ground is greater than six feet, this poses a real risk of injury and or death,” said Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center Executive Director Kevin Borrup.
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Last year in Hartford, a 2-year-old was killed falling out of a third-story window. According to Borrup, about 119 other children were injured in Connecticut due to similar accidents between 2018 and 2022.
“Parents should be sure that if they’re opening the window, maybe lock it at four inches open so it doesn’t open greater than four inches,” Borrup said.
He says children ages two to five are the most at risk of falling out of a window.
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“I think it should be a statewide requirement that they should have protections on these windows, especially when there’s kids involved,” Thomas said.
Some apartments use bars in order to increase safety. As for screens, Borrup says parents should not rely on them to keep their kids safe.
“We all have screens, but those screens were designed to keep bugs out. They weren’t designed to keep children from falling out the window,” Borrup said.
