Hi, Will.
I’m deeply troubled, this morning, that yet another of the commonwealth’s children has lost his life as a result of falling through a window screen. I really believe it is high time we do something more than warn parents to keep children away from windows. I’m wondering what it would take to pass a law requiring certain safety precautions in homes where there are children under a certain age. Perhaps it could be attached to the lead safety regulations. I’d appreciate your thoughts.
Faith Morgan
I think the building code is where we start — minimum window heights above the floor of 24 inches are prescribed by the code. In some instances of falls, code violations of this type have been involved. The basic quality of housing may be one ongoing issue that we should be concerned about.
But I think we’d want to know more about what kinds of situations lead to falls before we tried to design a remedy. If you’d like to work with me to develop the issue, I’d be delighted. It’s certainly something that merits attention.
Hi, Will.
Yes, I’d be very interested in working on the issue with you. The article you linked to was eye-opening. I have a couple of ideas, too. Please let me know where you’d like to begin. Feel free to email if you prefer. Thanks, as always, for your commitment to issues affecting children and families. -Faith