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Plan bedrooms and children's spaces

Bedrooms must be safe to sleep in, easy to escape from and calm. Children's rooms have extra hazards: tip-over furniture, window cords and bunk beds.

How

1. Put a smoke alarm inside each bedroom and outside each sleeping area, as USFA advises (safety-9).
2. Check every sleeping room has two ways out and, where the code requires, an escape window (rooms-3).
3. Anchor dressers, wardrobes and bookcases to the wall (rooms-21). Store heavy items in lower drawers, as CPSC advises.
4. Use cordless blinds and curtains in any room a child uses. CPSC calls cordless window coverings the safest option and advises moving cribs and beds away from windows and cords.
5. If you use bunk beds, CPSC advises no children under 6 on the top bunk, guardrails on both sides of the top bunk and gaps under 3.5 in.
6. Give each person a small LED reading light and a head torch by the bed for blackouts.

Safety: Tip-over furniture, window cords and top bunks are known causes of child deaths. Follow the CPSC advice in this step.

Do these first

• safety-9

Sources

1. Nearly Half of Incidents with Kids and Corded Window Coverings Resulted in Death: GoCordless to Save Lives. US Consumer Product Safety Commission, accessed 2026-11
2. Bunk bed recall and safety advice (CPSC release). US Consumer Product Safety Commission, accessed 2026-11
3. CPSC Injury and Fatality Report Shows Despite Some Progress Need for TV and Furniture Tip-Over Prevention Remains Strong. US Consumer Product Safety Commission, accessed 2026-11
4. Smoke Alarms. US Fire Administration (FEMA), accessed 2026-11

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