The Hidden Hazards Of Open Windows

Safety experts call it a hidden hazard: an open window in your house.

As The Early Show's consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reports, it can be a serious danger for children especially during the summer, when the weather is warm and many windows are open.

And it can be a problem whether you live in the city or the suburbs; every year thousands of children fall out of windows and many parents don't realize just how dangerous and deadly an open window can be.

To see him now, you'd never know that Brian Conaghan cheated death just a few years ago. This fun loving kid was bouncing on his sister's bed when he bounced right out the window.

"He lost his balance and fell against the screen, which fell out and he landed on the driveway," remembers Brian's mom Judi.

Brian fell nearly 15 feet to the concrete below. His dad, David, heard the screams and ran outside.

"It looked bad. It looked bad," David Conaghan recalls.

And it was bad. Brian was bleeding profusely from his head. His leg was broken and his eye socket was shattered, but he was alive. He spent a week in the hospital and months recovering at home.

"You know, other accidents out there, you can't control a car crashing into yours," says his mom. "You can't control a lot of things that happen to people. This was something that was preventable."

Safety experts say whether you live in a high-rise or single-family home, the risk is serious.

"They are such surprising deaths. Every parent says the same thing. 'I never realized, I never thought. If only I had known,' " says Alan Korn from Safe Kids Worldwide.

Korn says too many parents make the mistake of thinking a screened window is a safe window. "Screens are for keeping bugs out, not kids in," he explains.

And the screens can pop out easily. Korn says in two thirds of these accidents, kids reach the window by climbing up on furniture. That's why beds or chairs should always be pushed away.

But moving your furniture away from your window isn't always going to eliminate the danger. Windows come in all shapes and sizes. A typical window is 22 inches from the ground. It's easy access for the average 1-year-old who stands 30 inches tall.

The best protection? Korn says it's a window guard, available for around $40 at home supply stores. It bolts right to your window and can be removed in the event of a fire.

The rest of the time, Korn says, "It blocks the window. If a child were to get access to the window sill, this is going to prevent him or her from going through the screen."

Judi Conaghan now uses a safety device called a window stop. They come in several sizes and are sold at hardware stores for about $2 and prevent windows from going up more than four inches so kids can't fall out.

While Brian's bones have healed, the Conaghans still worry. They tell their children not to play near the windows. It's a message they hope other parents teach their kids so they don't fall victim to this hazard.

"Parents can't be by their kids' side 24 hours a day. We thought we had taken the measures that were enough. They weren't enough," says Brian's mom, Judi.

Brian is one lucky little boy. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that more than 3,000 kids went to the hospital after falling out of windows in 2004. And more than 70 kids have died during the past several years.

Other tips for parents include opening the windows from the top down if possible, so kids can't get out; locking your windows when you're not using them; and planting shrubs and grass outside your windows so that if your child does fall out, they have something to cushion their landing.