Make your curtain and blind cords safe by requesting a free safety kit from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website Consumer Affairs Victoria .

Tragically, at least 15 Australian children have died in strangling incidents related to unsafe blind and curtain cords since the early 1990s - including two Victorian infants late last year.

Children - particularly infants - can become entangled in looped curtain and blind cords when they reach for them from the floor, furniture, beds or cots.

Stronger safety standards were put in place at the start of 2009, but you should check all cords in your home to make sure they are safe.

If you are a Victorian resident, you can order free kits for timber window frames online, at Consumer Affairs Victoria . Further information is also available from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission at ACCC home .

For other kinds of window frames, get a simple safety kit from hardware stores.