Remember Safety this Thanksgiving

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanksgiving is the time of year when friends and family look forward to getting together. As friends and family congregate at a loved one's house for heaping helpings of turkey and mashed potatoes, be sure to take the proper precautions to ensure everyone's safety this Thanksgiving. Remember, many family parties will have children present and it is paramount to make sure all potential hazards are taken care of in the kitchen and around the house before guests arrive.

Here are some tips to consider when preparing your home and kitchen for children this Thanksgiving.

    --  Keep children away from the oven. The oven will be hot and children
        should stay three feet away.
    --  Make sure young children stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam
        or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
    --  Turn handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents.
    --  Be sure electric cords from any appliance are not hanging off the
        counter within easy reach of a child.
    --  Be mindful of your window coverings as they can pose a potential hazard
        to young children. Through retrofit kits or the installation of cordless
        window products, you will be able to easily eliminate this potential
        hazard.
    --  Move all cribs, beds, furniture and toys away from windows and window
        cords, preferably to another wall.

The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) urges parents to consider these tips when attending a Thanksgiving gathering this year. For more information on window covering safety and to order free retrofit kits please visit www.windowcoverings.org.

The Window Covering Safety Council (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 wishing to retrofit rather than replace their older window coverings can order free retrofit devices through WCSC's website at www.windowcoverings.org or its toll-free phone line at 1-800-506-4636.