The window cord in your child’s bedroom may be a noose in the making. October is Window Covering Safety Month, a good time to check for hazardous dangling strings.

According to Health Canada, most children strangled by curtain or blind cords are under age 3. Since 1989 there have been at least 22 deaths related to these hazards. Childproof pull strings by cutting them short and tying them up. “Don’t put furniture near windows for children to climb on and reach cords,” advises Sheila Mongeon, manager of Plan-it Safe at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. “This is a real safety concern, especially since such injuries are preventable.”