NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Decorating your home for the holidays can be one of the most enjoyable family traditions. It is a great way to brighten up the home with a festive feel and create lasting family memories for children. During the excitement and bustle of the holidays, it’s important to be mindful of potential safety hazards that can often be overlooked.

As families decorate their homes this season, The Window Covering Safety Council urges parents and caregivers to keep child safety in mind. Use these child-safe decorating tips to ensure that your home is both beautiful and safe for children this season.

• Use only cordless window products in homes with young children. Replace older window coverings with today’s safer, cordless products.
• Keep all window pull cords and inner lift cords out of the reach of children. Make sure that tasseled pull cords are short and continuous-loop cords are permanently anchored to the floor or wall.  Make sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit movement of inner lift cords.
• Place your menorah or tree away from fireplaces, radiators, and portable heaters.
• Inspect both new and old lights for broken sockets or frayed wires, and discard any damaged sets.
• Switch off all holiday lights when your family goes to sleep or leaves the home.
• Avoid decorations that are sharp or breakable, or that have small parts a child could choke on.
• Always keep burning candles within sight and extinguish them before going to bed or leaving the house.
• Do not use decorations that resemble candy or something a child would attempt to eat.
• Keep hot food and liquids out of the reach of children.

For additional safety and holiday style tips visit the window covering safety council website at www.windowcoverings.org. Families can also visit WCSC on Facebook and Twitter to learn other valuable safety tips.

Window Covering Safety Council: The (WCSC) is a coalition of major U.S. manufacturers, importers and retailers of window coverings. The Council assists and supports its members in the industry’s ongoing efforts to encourage the use of cordless products in homes with young children, its redesign of corded products, and to support the national ANSI/WCMA standard for the safety of corded window coverings.  WCSC’s activities in no way constitute an assumption of any legal duty owed by its members or any other entity. Consumers seeking more information can visit WCSC’s website at www.windowcoverings.org.

Media Contact: Alexandra Carmichael, 212-297-2120, [email protected]