EU-wide child lock standards approved

Europe’s governments today gave the go-ahead for the first EU-wide safety standards for “childproof” locks on windows and balcony doors.

National experts on the EU’s General Product Safety Committee also backed moves to set new minimum requirements for the safety of baby bath time products, such as bath seats and other bathing aids for infants.

EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva insisted it was up to parents to judge the safety of their children, but said they needed to be sure that the products they used were safe.

“Instructions must be clear, products must really be childproof if they say they are, and products must withstand all necessary safety tests.”

There are currently no EU safety standards for “childproof” window or balcony door locks, or for many baby bath articles.

Developing such standards is part of a drive to update safety levels for a range of child care products across Europe.

After today’s agreement, the European Commission will send a mandate to the European Standardisation Committee, to start work on the new product standards - a process expected to take at least two years.

The end result will be locking devices for windows and balcony doors calculated to defeat the opening efforts of a child less than four years old.

The Commission says available data suggests that there are dozens of serious accidents a year in EU countries involving window locks and doors – an average 70 a year in Greece, 130 a year in the Netherlands and 25 in the UK.

Under the new standards voted for today, new stability and resistance requirements will be built in to bath time aids on sale, to minimise the risk of a child tipping over in the bath.

There will also be new standards for written warnings for parents and carers looking after children.

A Commission statement explained: “The main reason behind the accidents is a false sense of security by the adult users, where they assume that these products are safety devices, making them more likely to leave the child unattended in the bath.”