Last updated by charlotte.lang@essex.gov.uk on Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Falls are the most common cause of accidental injury to children. While most falls aren’t serious, some falls can lead to death or long-term disability. 

Across England, one child under five is admitted to hospital every day after falling from a building - out of windows or from balconies.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust have advice on preventing falls from windows. A factsheet of essential advice for parents to keep children safe from falls is also available to download.

Serious falls from windows are easily preventable:

• Fit safety catches, locks or window restrictors to windows.
• Keep keys to window locks in a place where you can easily find them, in case you need to escape from a fire.
• Keep furniture like beds and sofas away from windows to prevent children from climbing and reaching windows.
• Make sure there’s nothing else near a window – like a toy box – that young children can use as a step.

And, if parents of young children live in homes with balconies, remind them to keep young children away from balconies unless they are supervised and to keep balcony doors locked when not in use.