The parents of a three-year-old boy who tragically died after a curtain cord became tangled around his neck are calling for improved safety warnings to help prevent similar tragedies. On January 20 of last year, they had put their son down for his usual afternoon nap and could hear him ‘babbling away.’ However, a coroner’s court in Christchurch, New Zealand, was told that when the father checked on his son around 4 p.m., the child was no longer in his bed.
Coroner Heather McKenzie detailed in her findings that the father found the child ‘in front of the curtain with a cord wrapped around his neck.’ The father then carried the toddler to his mother, and they called emergency services and began CPR. Paramedics arrived just five minutes later, but the boy could not be revived, according to the New Zealand Herald. Ms. McKenzie noted on Monday that the parents described their son as their ‘beautiful, cheeky, and sweet little buddy.’ She added that they are devastated and heartbroken not only by their loss but also by seeing their daughter grieve for her brother.
“They hope to prevent other families from experiencing a similar tragedy and believe that there should be clearer safety messages about blind cords.”
The family had spent the morning at the beach and put the boy down for a nap after lunch.
Ms. McKenzie noted that “the day had been ordinary, with nothing unusual, and the boy’s behavior was typical for him.”
The father recalled that he thought he had closed the blind and curtain, and the bedroom door was shut. He had heard the child ‘babbling away’ as usual.
The toddler’s bed was positioned away from the wall, and he would often get up on his own if he woke before his parents arrived, sometimes hiding behind the curtain between the blinds.
The father informed the police that the cord was wrapped around the front of his son’s neck but not the entire neck.
The coroner explained, “The cord was used to adjust the blind. Normally, the boy’s mother would remind the father to raise the blind and secure the cord high around the railing. He didn’t believe the boy had previously played with the cord. Besides hiding behind the curtains, he had never been known to jump or play with them.”
Coroner McKenzie noted there was nothing unusual in the child’s bedroom that day. While the boy occasionally stacked his pillows to reach his drawers and get his books, he hadn’t done so on this occasion.
“Based on the evidence available, it seems that the boy was playing near the blind or with it, causing the cord to become wrapped around the front of his neck, and he was unable to free himself,” Ms. McKenzie said. “It is unclear how long he was in that position before his father found him. Under these circumstances, I conclude that his death was a tragic accident. He was a very much-loved son and brother and is greatly missed.”
In Australia, there is a mandatory safety standard for internal blinds, curtains, and window fittings produced after 2010. However, New Zealand currently lacks similar mandatory safety guidelines.
Ms. McKenzie mentioned that there were no additional recommendations she could make beyond those previously suggested by Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale following the accidental asphyxiation of a 19-month-old by a Roman blind cord in 2018.
In that case, Ms. Borrowdale noted, “The family tragically affected by this death were unaware of the hazards posed by inner blind cords located at the back of the blind. Their custom-made blind came with no safety information.”
She also cited Dr. Gary Smith, co-author of a US study on window cord fatalities, who emphasized, “Messaging is not enough. Designing the problem out of existence, such as by manufacturing only cordless blinds, is the most effective strategy.”
Additionally, she referenced advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which was published before it implemented stricter regulations in 2014.
A coroner’s court in Christchurch, New Zealand, learned that when the father went to check on his son around 4 p.m., the child was missing from his bed (stock image).
“The ACCC believes that parental education alone is not enough to address the hazard,” the statement read.
Ms. McKenzie emphasized that curtain cords should be treated with the same level of caution as other potential dangers like baths, swimming pools, seas, lakes, and rivers.
“Window blind strangulation incidents can be fatal within minutes and can occur silently, much like child drownings,” she said. “Accessible window blind cords should be regarded as just as hazardous to young children as standing bodies of water.”
