Child Safety Windows, balconies and change tables: Kidsafe WA's free guide to stopping falls
Falls are the most common reason children end up at Perth Children's Hospital. Kidsafe WA's free guides give the exact measurements for windows and balconies, and the simple habits that stop babies rolling off change tables and toddlers tumbling down stairs.
Every year more than 6,800 children go to the Perth Children's Hospital emergency department after a fall. That's about a third of all the injured children it sees. Children aged one and two fall the most.
Most falls are trips and slips: a bump, a bruise, a cuddle. Some are not. A baby who has never rolled before rolls off the change table. A toddler climbs onto a bed under an open window. A four-year-old leans over a balcony rail. Those are the falls that cause head injuries and broken bones, and they're the ones a few small changes at home can stop.
Kidsafe WA has a free falls page with a short brochure, a nursery equipment fact sheet and A Parent's Guide to Baby's First Year, plus a balcony and window section in its Online Safety Demonstration House with the exact measurements to check.
What you get
- How to Prevent Falls in Children. A short picture brochure with the six main habits.
- A Parent's Guide to Baby's First Year (second edition, 2025). 28 pages on every common injury in the first year, with a page on falls.
- Nursery Equipment fact sheet. Cots, change tables, prams, high chairs and walkers.
- Balcony and window safety in the Online Safety Demonstration House: the measurements below.
All free to download. No sign-up.
Who it's for
Parents of babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Especially if you have an upstairs room, a balcony, a high verandah, stairs, or you're moving house or renovating.
Windows and balconies: the numbers to check
Kidsafe WA's measurements, from its demonstration house:
- Windows. Any window with a sill lower than 1500mm (1.5 metres) from the floor should only open 100mm, about the width of your hand. A window lock or restrictor does this.
- Window screens. Think about fitting a strong screen or guard that an adult can take off quickly in a fire.
- Balconies and verandahs. Anything higher than 600mm off the ground needs a balustrade. It should be at least 1000mm high, with gaps no wider than 100mm.
- No climbing rails. Kidsafe WA does not recommend wire balustrades or ones with horizontal rails. Children use them as ladders.
- Move the furniture. Beds, cots, couches, chairs, toy boxes and drawers go away from windows and balcony rails. A toddler only needs one step up.
- Lock the balcony door, and always be out there with children when they're on it.
Babies: change tables, beds and couches
- Never leave a baby alone on anything raised: change table, bed, couch. Even if they've never rolled before.
- Keep one hand on your baby when changing them. Have everything you need within reach before you start.
- Need to walk away? Take the baby with you. No change table? Use a towel on the floor.
- Use the harness in the pram, stroller and high chair, every time.
- Kidsafe WA advises avoiding baby walkers. They raise the risk of falls and let babies reach dangers fast.
Toddlers: stairs and climbing
- Put gates at the top and bottom of stairs until your child is old enough to learn them.
- Teach them to come down stairs backwards, crawling, while you watch.
- Fix tall drawers and bookcases to the wall. Children climb drawers like a ladder. Our furniture tip-over guide shows how.
- Don't leave big toys or boxes in the cot or playpen. They become a step to climb out.
- Watch closely and stay near when they climb, swing or play up high.
What it costs
Nothing. The guides are free. Window locks and stair gates come from hardware and baby stores. Renting? Ask your landlord before you drill.
How to use it, step by step
- Open Kidsafe WA's falls page (button below) and download the brochure and A Parent's Guide to Baby's First Year.
- Walk every room at your child's height. Look for windows that open wider than a hand, and anything they could climb to reach them.
- Measure your windowsills. Under 1.5 metres from the floor and opening wider than 100mm? Fit a lock or restrictor.
- Check your balcony. Taller than 1 metre? Gaps under 100mm? Nothing to climb on?
- Move the furniture away from windows and rails.
- Set up your change spot so everything is within reach, and fit stair gates.
- Want to see it done? Kidsafe WA's Safety Demonstration House in West Leederville shows these fixes in a real home.
Sources
- Kidsafe WA: How to Reduce the Risk of Falls (falls the leading cause of injury at Perth Children's Hospital ED, 2022-2023; brochure, first-year guide, nursery equipment fact sheet)
- Kidsafe WA: Fall Injuries to Children (over 6,800 children a year at PCH ED, about 36% of injuries; ages 1-2 highest; prevention steps)
- Kidsafe WA: Online Safety Demonstration House, Driveway (balcony and window safety: 600mm, 1000mm, 100mm gaps, windows under 1500mm restricted to 100mm, removable screens)
- Kidsafe WA: A Parent's Guide to Baby's First Year, second edition 2025 (falls page: raised surfaces, balconies, baby walkers, stairs, furniture away from windows)
- Kidsafe WA: Nursery Equipment fact sheet (change tables, harnesses, baby walkers)
- Kidsafe WA: Online Safety Demonstration House, Bedroom (change tables, top-heavy furniture, drawers away from windows)