All 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds in U.S. homes with small children need to be repaired in order to prevent the risk of strangulation, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Since 2001, the agency has received reports of eight children who died and another 16 who nearly strangled in window covering cords, NBC News and MSNBC.com reported.
"Parents need to understand that these are hidden dangers, that a child can get entangled or strangled on these cords very quickly," said CPSC chair Inez Tenenbaum.
Consumers with small children should remove these blinds and contact the Window Covering Safety Council (800-506-4636) to receive a free repair kit to make the window coverings safe.