When children are young, they like to explore and become familiar with new objects and places. This can include climbing on furniture, such as dressers, bookshelves, televisions or a TV stand. Climbing on furniture or reaching for items in high places can cause furniture to become unbalanced and tip over.
A child is injured from a tip-over almost every 43 minutes. Furthermore, a fatality occurs nearly every 12 days from a tip-over. Tip-overs generally occur in the home – more than 9 out of 10 deaths happened in this setting. More so, nearly half of all tip-over deaths occur in a bedroom.
Tip-Over Safety Tips
- Anchor furniture to the wall by installing affordable anchoring devices or brackets to prevent tip-overs.
- Secure your flat-panel TV with a wall mount that has a safety certification by an independent laboratory, such as UL, CSA, ETL.
- For households with a heavier, box-style TV, place it on a low, stable piece of furniture and push TV as far back as possible, especially if anchoring is not possible.
- Do not place toys or other items in places where children might be tempted to climb.
- Heavier items should be stored on lower shelves or in lower drawers.
- Keep TV cables and cords away from children.
- In areas where furniture and/or TVs have not been properly secured to the wall, make sure to supervise children.
- If you make the decision to purchase a new TV, consider recycling older ones not in use.
