Warm air, open windows a problem with young kids

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Now that warm days have arrived in Portland, people will be opening their windows to let fresh air in.

But curiosity of what is outside the open window can turn into a dangerous situation for children. It doesn’t take much for kids to suffer a traumatic fall.

“Older kids are very observant, even little kids of 1-year-old are very observant and it’s their jobs to imitate the adults,” said Jan Berichon, the health educator with Randall Children’s Hospital.

“Kids at the highest risk are between (the ages of) 1 and 5. Once they are able to move around they are at risk,” she said. “Most of those kids will end up with some kind of injury, head injury, broken limbs, or even die. We usually average 8 to 9 kids who will die from windows fall each year.”

One other thing parents should be aware of are the strings on window shades. Those can be very dangerous for small children.

“What we want to teach families and kids is to evaluate all windows and treat them as a potential window fall window,” Berichon said. “Teach them to play away from windows and add safety products.”