Third Floor Windows

Use those baby gates if they fit. Put baby locks on the window and do without the ventilation. Save up for the window guards if you have to.

Use a baby gate, one that is adujustable. That's what my friend did to her third story window. Her kids can still look but they can't fall out.

How about a fireplace guard? Or they have those playyard things that forms a circle in the yard for the kids to play in...maybe you could rig it to "gate" off the window.

A friend of mine uses small pressure lock gates - the kind that have a wooden base with white wire. It's small enough to fit inside the window seal and you can still see out. If the gate is pushed on the inside of the seal next to the window will help hold in in place. You can find them at Babies R Us. One Step Ahead also has some good options www.onestepahead.com

I just wanted to add that if you are getting locks...get them for all the windows not just the one in the kids room. You never know when they might be in a nother room and get curious.
Best of luck.

D.

Hi E....
I have some from kidsafe.com that cost about $3 for two of them.. they stick to your window or door and then it has a hinge on it that you can fold up so the windown won't open any more than you want it to.
kidsafe is an awesome site.. we've also gotten the coolest door locks that go ON TOP of the door so even older kids can't reach! those are called "door top locks"

so good luck and e-mail me if you can't find the site and i'll send you the link.

I would go to the hardware store today and get a window lock. They simply screw on by hand, requiring no tools and you can know your children are safe immediately. It is a great solution for very little money and no delay waiting for shipping. If you want something different, at least your little ones will be safe until you get something else!

Sincerely,
A.

Please, Please, Please invest in window locks!!! So many children have been falling from windows lately. Fox 12 and Katu 2, recently did a story on this and put information out about a very small, inexpensive window device that would allow you to crack your window ever so slightly, but keep it locked in a width/position that a child could not squeeze through. They only cost .99 cents to a couple of dollars at the most. They can be found at most hardware stores, but Home Depot stands out as the store they reccomended to check out first.

If you just want to leave the window open a crack, and there is some way to drill a hole to put a screw in the slide track of the window. This will prevent the window from opening any further and is a simple and cheap method to locking windows.

What kind of window is it? We had a dowel cut to fit in the track of our slider so our kids can't open it more than four inches. I would think you could do something similar for a double-hung window, but I'm not sure how you could handle it for a casement window that swings out.

Perhaps you could switch to a time out mat/rug and get rid of the bench?

E.,
Being that you live on the third floor I am assuming you are renting.
If this is correct then I recommend that you contact the apartment management to ask them to put window safety guards on.
Also, move any and all furniture from in front of the window. (I realize this isn't much of a solution, but it may help until the management does what they should do.)

Best of luck to you.

Good for you, E.--- I've been a special ed teacher for 40 years --- and the most heartbraking children for me are those lambs who started out typical and then an accident changed their lives forever. I have just one suggestion--- I would encourage you to spend the money- and boy do I know what you mean about '''don't really have'' -- but this is so crucial. Not only their safety - but your peace of mind are at stake--. You can look up on-line and find the safest one ( unfortunately - companies will charge you big bucks for inferior, useless products - take the extra hour and check out Consumer Reports and ask the super Moms on this list-serve-)

Blessings,

J.
( Mom, Grandmom and preschool teacher )

You can buy a window stop at Fred Meyers or any other store that has hardware. It's small, shaped so that one side fits into the runner and the other side fits outside. Then you turn the screw which tightens it so that it can't be moved without unscrewing it. Very simple and inexpensive.

We used them at my daughter's apartment and they worked well. The thumb screw turns hard so that kids cannot unscrew it.

I have 2nd story windows and we purchased the super stopper, I bought them on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Parents-Units-Super-Stopper/dp/B000...

Also they give you other suggestions for other window stops that might wrok for you also! Hope this helps!

I understand very well your concern over the price of the window guards, but they are worth every penny. Consider the medical bills of a survived fall and the expense of a funeral emotionally and literally. $50 - $100 doesn't sound so bad anymore does it? There are lots of options out there, but the fact is you want something as fail proof as possible for the sake of your children. In another year or two will it really make a huge difference in your financial state? Find some coupons or visit some second hand stores and test out what they have to see if they are secure. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will give you peace of mind. :) Good luck!

I was going to suggest the expensive locks but I read the first post and remembered that sometimes the least expensive options are as effective (or better) than the expensive ones!

I don't know what type of windows you have, but some types can be cracked open from the top rather than from the bottom - this would help the situation...I think...Is it really an issue - how much of a crack do you leave them open? Enough that one of the kids can open it more or enough that they can actually fit through the crack (which wouldn't sound like just a crack to me)? If they can't get it open more - then it may not be an issue. I am pretty sure that they can't push the glass out (then ANY window would be a potential problem), just the screen. There are stoppers (as others have commented) that you can install to keep the kids from opening the window any further - if that is a possibility.

All great advice and I encourage you as all of these posters have is to do something immediatly.. I use to manage an apartment community and I had a family that lived on the 3rd floor... She had 2 children and as she was getting her baby down for a nap, her toddler did the same thing as you described and there was a screen in the window.. false sense of security and her window was open. The toddler pushed the screen out and fell to the ground.. Thank God he missed the concrete sidewalk by inches and fell into the soft ground and amazingly he was fine, not a scratch BUT as you know.. not everyone is that lucky!! Very Very Scary situation and when I read your post that was the first thing I thought of.. Please Please go to the store immediatly and secure your windows..

if it's a wooden window frame you could just nail boards to the frame to keep it from opening further. if it's vinyl you could maybe still do that but not i guess if you're renting. i don't think trying to obstruct the window is a safe bet, i think it's better to somehow keep it from being able to be opened.

E., I too have three boys, and they are very good at getting into things!! for the window: try a tension rod (like a curtain rod) placed at the top of the window, to prevent it from opening more than just a crack!
Hope that helps!!
S.

At Lowes they have these locks that slide onto the window rail and tighten in place, so the window will not open beyond that. I have them on all my windows. Think it was about $5 and did ALL my windows 16 in total. Congrats on the move!

S.

E. take it from me get some kind of lock on the window. My husband had an employees two year old fall from a third floor and by the grace of God a Guardian Angel had to be close by because the little guy fell onto a cement patio and only broke his leg... Get something to protect your little ones NOW!.
There are these locks that can be screwed on at the top of the window that will allow the window to crack open a bit but not enough for a little one to fall out, and out of their reach.
It is just too risky to allow them up there because it only takes a second.
Go out and find a window lock today...go to a hardware store tell them what you have and they will be willing to help you.

I also live not very far from where you are, in fact used to have an office in Federal Way but now work at St. Joseph hospital in Tacoma. I am not an active mom but am a grandma to 5( two girls and 3 very active precosious boys) and soon 7 since my daughter will have twins in January. The responses you have had are good. I have used the dowel and drilling a hole and using a screw those both work the only thing with that is little boys have a knack at figuring those things out because of the little engineer in them. I think you need to make another part of the of the room more inticing than the window. Explain that the window can be very dangerous and you love them too much to have them get hurt. I know of a little girl that did that and fell onto concrete from 2nd floor she lived but the outcome was not good. I don't want to go into details because it is frightening. The only other option is if you have a large piece of furniture that could go in front of the window temporarily to discourage the temptation of those sweet little boys you are blessed with.
Gramma K. R.

E.,
You are just getting started with the antics that active boys like to pull, all of which will cause you to get gray hair! However, depending how your window opens, you can try tacking a dowel in the track above the top of the window if it slides up, to prevent it from opening more than a few inches. Windows that crank open are more challenging. If it has a handle that turns it open, remove the handle (which will work until they discover pliers or leathermans). Otherwise find a way to nail a block at the point where you want the window to stop opening. That's cheaper and more effective than most of the gadgets they sell. I have 7 boys ranging from 7 to 18. They have climbed refrigerators, book shelves, flag poles and built snowboarding runs off of the garage roof! Miss Clairol is a wonderful friend. Its a wonder all my hair isn't pure white. We've only had 4 broken bones ove the years and no really serious injuries. But they've definitely caused a number of rounds of heart failure! L.

Hi E.,
You are right to worry. We just had a neighbor's boy fall out a second story window. After the fact they told us they found a window lock at a hardware store for less than $2. You might check out your local Home Depot or whatever and see what they offer.

Best wishes,
A.

Hi E. - We went through the same issue with second floor windows. Proper window protection is not cheep but it is worth the life of my boys. I did research & found Guardian Angel Window Guards from OneStep Ahead. They fit great (if in doubt on the size get the larger one if you window is close to the cut off size. http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/464.html They were very easy to install and they don't look bad at all. There are very easy fire escape buttons built in so if an emergency came up you can get out fast (that part the kids do not know how to do). My kids are very adventurous and love to talk out the windows and I know they will not fall. I did read some of the other responses about using child gates but one problem I ran into with those just even being used in doorways my kids were smart enough to figure how they worked and could take them out or push & pull enough until they gave way. Depending on what your windows are made of the small locking clamps may not work efficiently. Using these Window Guards gives me a great peace of mind knowing that they are safe. Plus I can open the windows all the way and get the fresh air in without risking safety. Maybe an idea is to buy a proper window guard for your kid's bedroom and temporally use something else in the other areas until you have set aside the money for the others?? Good Luck & Take Care

I am on the third floor as well, with two windows my kids love to sit in. I put one of those expanding gates across the one in their room with eye hooks. The one in the living room I movesd all the furniture I could away from the window and explained to the older one (3 1/2) why it was dangerous. After a little time and a little Mommy angry voice they don't sit up there anymore.

Have you tried putting a baby gate in the window? Or there's many window "locks" at home depot, lowe's etc. We had to buy some of those and put them in the top sill so the window can't be opened past where you put it. One more thing we can control..lol :)

We had this same exact issue so my husband took the little metal window lock things that screw into the inside window frame and prevent it from being opened any higher than you place them (so you could still keep the window cracked) from downstairs windows and put them in the windows of concern (they happened to already be in the house).

What I would do would be to buy a baby gate and secure it to the wall on either side of the window. (I did something similar to keep my kids from pulling the books out of my book case!

I would also get one of those wooden window stops that you use to keep intruders out. What we've done in our twins' room and also the sliding glass patio door is to put the window stop at the TOP of the window. (Secured with velcro.) If you cut the wood so it lets you open the window five or six inches, you can still get some air flow but your kids won't be able to get it open enough to fall out.

I probably didn't describe our system very well, but if you'd like a picture of what we've done just shoot me a private message and I'll get my handy dandy camera out!