How to child proof balcony

How can we make our balcony and deck safe for our child?

By Martin N. Simenc

Decks and balconies pose several hazards — the most serious being that your child could slip through the railings and fall, or become wedged in the railings and suffocate. Fortunately, with supervision and a few simple steps, you should be able to prevent these accidents.

If the railings on your deck or balcony create any gaps that are wider than 4 inches, you'll need to make some modifications to stop your child from squeezing through. One option is to cover the railings with plastic garden fencing, shade cloth, a sheet of clear plastic, or rigid sheets of Plexiglas.

If the railing has a row of ladder-like horizontal bars — which your child could use to climb up and over the top — make sure you use these barriers and secure them to the inside of the railing.

Plexiglas is the most attractive option, but it's expensive (roughly $2 to $4 per square foot at home improvement stores) and somewhat difficult to work with. You'll need some serious carpentry skills or the help of a professional to get it cut to the right dimensions.

A roll of clear "balcony shield" or "banister guard," available at websites such as Safe Beginnings, will be less expensive (about $1 per square foot) and much easier to cut and install, but it's only appropriate for indoor applications.

Deck netting is more appropriate for outdoor use. You can put up shade cloth or garden fencing without much hassle or expense. A black mesh shade cloth lets in a surprising amount of light and won't detract much from your view.

You can secure any of these materials to the railings with screws or plastic cord ties. Avoid using staples. If they become dislodged, they present a serious choking hazard.

As an alternative to covering your deck or balcony, you can add additional vertical slats or spindles to fill in the gaps in the railing. This is a particularly appealing alternative if your railings are made of wood.

When you're childproofing your railings, don't forget to make external stairs safer as well. If you have stairs leading down from your balcony or deck, build or buy a gate to match your existing railings. Be sure the gate's latching mechanism is childproof or high enough that it's out of reach.

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Try to get in the habit of keeping patio furniture away from the railings. You don't want to give your child a chance to climb up and go over the edge.

You should also consider adding latches to any doors or windows that lead out to your balcony or deck. These latches should be installed well out of your child's reach.

If you're at a hotel or visiting someone else's house, you won't have the opportunity to close gaps between spindles or add latches to doors. If there's a child-sized gap between the spindles, the best thing you can do is keep your child off the balcony or deck completely, even if he has supervision. Curious kids can be extremely fast, and a child needs just a second to slip away.

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Martin N. Simenc

Martin N. Simenc, P.E., ARM, CAPS, MBA, is the founder and president of Home Safety Services, Northern California's largest and highest-rated residential safety company.

Tips for Childproofing Your Balcony

Most of us are not aware of the death-traps and the child deaths caused due to an unsafe balcony, here is an incident. Recently, in Prince Apartment in the Mandawali East Delhi, a toddler playing a game with her mother fell from the 4th floor of their apartment railings causing her death. The child was rushed to the hospital which was declared as brought dead. Around 30% of the children/toddler deaths all over the country occur due to an unsafe balcony such a gap between railings, leaping from balcony, suffocation, falling from balconies or windows etc.

Such heart-breaking incidents often occur in various apartments in India due to an improper fencing or railing of the balcony and staircases. Balconies and other mounted places pose grave hazards for children of all the ages. The possibilities of your child slipping away or getting stuck and suffocated in the railings are increased due to the unsafe balconies or failure in balcony safety measures. Indeed you can avoid these mishaps by taking precautions and following simple steps;

• Make sure that the railings in your balcony or any mounted place shouldn’t have a gap more than 4 inches, if so take an action immediately by modifying it by a professional to avoid your child from squeezing in to it. Other ways to modify your railings is to shield the railings with fences used for a garden, plastic sheets or other durable sheets. The minimum height of the railing should be 3 ft in every building.
• If your railing has any ladder like space which your child can easily climb on, make sure you block that space or use a fence so that your child is not accessible to that place.
• One of the widely used shields covering for balconies is the Plexiglas. Although it is expensive, it serves various purposes like shielding, protection from sunlight rain and dust. The installing of a Plexiglas has to be done by a professional as it is a tough process.

• Most of the countries like Dubai and others follow balcony safety measures by measuring the height of the balcony railings and windows before approving a building to avoid child deaths. Opting this method for your building will serve your purpose. It is also the responsibility of the municipality to approve a building only after is proofed of all the hazards.

• Conducting routine inspections in your building often can prevent your child from falling or being hurt. Every property in India should have an association or an organisation for a home inspection and the safety of their child. Also the inspection can be carried out at the time of a construction or post construction.
• In most of the incidents of a child’s death the parent is completely responsible rather than an engineer. Parents tend to neglect such situations and face the consequences later. Most of the accidents happen due to negligence.
• Other cheaper ways to shield you balcony is to cover your balcony with a roll of clear balcony shield or the banister guard which is available in the market. Unlike Plexiglas, these are much easier to cut and install.
• For outdoor balcony fencing, a deck neck is more appropriate. Also a shade cloth can be opted to cover the railings.
• In case of an emergency, it is mandatory that a building shouldn’t have grills or additional fixtures for an easy access of civil defence.
• Also screws and plastic cord ties can be used to secure the railings. Avoid using staples as they can create a serious choking hazard.

• Your apartment railings can be secured by covering them with additional vertical slats/spindles in order to fill in the gaps. This technique is apt for wooden railings.
• Avoid placing the patio furniture away from the railings or staircases to stop your child from climbing it.
• It is advisable to add latches to passage ways and windows which lead towards the balcony. The latches should be out of your child’s reach.
• Always make sure that every time you take your child to your friends place or a restaurant, keep a vigil on your child and avoid letting your child go near the balconies or stairs.
• You can also install a door alarm for childproofing your home. There are various kinds of door alarms available for balconies and decks. Installing one at your home will make you aware every time your child opens the door.

Also read:

Safety Guidelines for Kids in Apartment

Electrical Safety Tips For Apartment

Fire Safety at Your Apartment Complex

How to make a balcony safe for a child

Everyone who has a child should know that danger awaits a child on a balcony.

How to make a balcony safe for a child.

My son's childhood friend fell off the balcony from the second floor when he was 5 years old. Now he is 26, he has made a career, he is married and has a one-year-old daughter who looks a lot like him. Believe me, he knows the price of safety on the balcony for children.

I asked him:

—How did this happen? nine0003

- I was playing on the balcony, I was 5 years old, I was short and could not see what was happening in the yard. And there were other children playing, they were screaming and laughing. I heard. I wanted to look at them, but I only saw the sky. The sky is visible, but the courtyard is not visible. I hear them running and laughing, but I'm interested to see them. At that time, we were doing repairs, the front door was being changed. The new one was installed, and the old one was carried out onto the balcony and placed leaning against the railing.

— Vertically placed?

- No, it's horizontal, it's tall, it would be visible from the street. No, they laid her on edge, leaning against the railing at an angle. I took hold of the railing with my hands and walked up the door, as if along a sloping wall, pulling myself up on my hands. And he stood on the edge of the door, but his feet were small. And the door slid along the floor and fell to the floor of the balcony, and I in the opposite direction, over the railing.
- Didn't you think you could fall? Why did you get up?

— No, I didn't think so, I just wanted to see it. I got up, I don’t know, maybe it was more convenient to get up. nine0003

— And then?

— And there was also a subbotnik, the neighbors just dug up the ground under the balcony, they wanted to plant something. It probably wasn't that hard. And also, remember, we had uneven ground under the balcony, I fell and, as it were, rolled down the slope a little more. When I fell, I lost consciousness. Then I see a neighbor standing over me and looking at me, everyone came running. My neighbor took me in his arms and carried me home, and my mother runs towards me.

— Where was mother?

— And my mother was in the kitchen, cooking. nine0003

— Were you in pain?

— I remember that I bit my tongue hard, then the ambulance came, I had a concussion.

— Were you not afraid that you might fall?

- Not at all. I think children don't have fear, or perhaps they have fear, but you don't feel it when you're curious. I just wanted to see what was there.

— Thank you for your story! May your daughter always be safe.

A Your child is safe on the balcony

Simple recommendations for safety on the balcony:

Australian Window Opening Law

In Australia, the President of the Australian Medical Association has petitioned the Government to introduce a window opening requirement into housing law. This law is about making it illegal to open windows more than 10cm. Such opening can be provided by special locks that limit the opening of the window to 10 cm and are available for sale at a price of $ 5 apiece.

Window bars in New York

In New York City, if you live with children under the age of 10, you are required by law to install bars on your windows. This requirement for New York was introduced in 1970 due to the high number of accidents. If you are renting a house, then the landlord must install the gratings. This requirement applies to all windows other than those that provide access to fire escapes. Moreover, if you rent housing, but you do not have children, then the landlord must still put bars, because children can come to visit you. nine0003

Photo of a grille on a New York window.

And these are indeed reasonable demands. A person does not become adult and cautious overnight. This is a process. And in the process of growing up, you can forget that in childhood we were not afraid to fall, were not afraid to hurt ourselves, and it seemed to us that if you take an umbrella, then you can definitely descend from a height smoothly, like Mary Popence. This is how all healthy children feel. And adults, most often, do not think that all the dangers need to be spoken to the child, explained, warned. It doesn't come to mind because it seems too obvious. We just have different evidence, in adults and in children. nine0003

The article used a speech by Sandi OReilly, President of the Australian Medical Association, for the B&W Assignment.