Furniture tip and falls are one of the leading causes of injuries in young children. Whether it’s a television, dresser, shelves or chairs, every year over 14,000 children are injured from furniture tip and falls. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, one child is killed every 10 days from furniture tip and falls, and every 30 minutes there is a trip to the emergency room because of a tip and fall. Most of these injuries occur when the furniture is not safely secured. In order to reduce the risk of these injuries, we’ve compiled four tips to help prevent injuries caused by tip overs:
1. Furniture Anchors
Furniture anchors are a necessity. You can use L-brackets, safety straps or other secure attachment devices which can be purchased from your local hardware store, and it is recommended to have at least two straps per furniture item.
2. Mount Flat Screen TVs out of Reach
As TVs get bigger and bigger, they have become the leading item in tip over injuries. Be sure to mount your TV out of reach from your child. If this is not an option for you, make sure you use a sturdy TV stand and/or furniture anchors.
3. Hide Cords
Be sure to tuck away cords to TVs or other electronics so children can not pull on them. A child pulling on the cord can often cause injuries when the item falls on them.
4. Storage of Tempting Items
Avoid storing tempting items such as TV remotes, tablets, DVDs and game on or above furniture that you don’t want your children to climb on. It is also important to avoid storage over places like the kitchen stoves as well.
These four tips in furniture security and mindfulness can help you and your family avoid tip and fall injuries. To learn more about how Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. can help your family in a tip and fall injury case, check out our page on Injuries from Products.
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