The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents of young children to anchor and stabilize their televisions, furniture, and appliances to prevent tip-over related incidents. In a quest to reach a toy, TV or game remote, or other desired item, young children are using dressers and tables as climbing devices and the results are tragic.
A new CPSC data report shows that 349 consumers (84 percent of them were children younger than age 9) were killed between 2000 and 2011, when TVs, furniture or appliances toppled over onto them. 2011 had the highest one-year number of fatalities reported. The 41 recorded fatalities is an increase from 31 in 2010 and 27 in 2009. This total also may increase in future years as additional fatalities are reported.
“We know that low-cost anchoring devices are effective in preventing tip-over incidents,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “I urge parents to anchor their TVs, furniture and appliances and protect their children. It takes just a few minutes to do and it can save lives.”
CPSC estimates that more than 43,000 consumers are injured each year in tip-over incidents. More than 25,000 (59 percent) of those injuries are to children under the age of 18. Falling furniture accounts for more than half (52 percent) of the injury reports. Falling televisions have proven to be more deadly, as they are associated with more than half (62 percent) of reported fatalities.
Small children are no match for a falling dresser, wall unit or 50- to 100-pound television. Children involved in these tip-over incidents often sustain severe head and other injuries to the body as a result of being crushed by the product or trapped under its weight. In 57 percent of the reported fatalities and 39 percent of injuries, the victim was struck in the head by the falling item.
Some reports indicate that as families purchase or transition to flat screen televisions, their older and often heavier televisions are moved into bedrooms and other rooms in the house, without the proper stand or anchoring device accompanying them. Many of the reported fatalities occurred in bedrooms, living rooms and family rooms with 40 percent occurring in bedrooms and 19 percent occurring in living rooms or family rooms.
Unanchored televisions placed on dressers, bureaus and tables not intended to be used as a TV stand have been associated with many tip-over incidents involving both the TV and the furniture. Flat screen and older, bulkier cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions should be placed on stands appropriate for the size and weight of the product. Once in place, an anti-tip or stabilizing device should be installed to help prevent tip overs.
To help prevent tip-over tragedies, CPSC recommends the following safety measures in homes where children live or visit:
- Anchor furniture to the wall or the floor.
- Place TVs on sturdy, low bases, or anchor the furniture and the TV on top the base, and push the TV as far back on the furniture as possible.
- Keep remote controls, toys, and other items that might attract children off of TV stands or furniture.
- Keep TV and/or cable cords out of reach of children.
- Make sure freestanding kitchen ranges and stoves are installed with anti-tip brackets.
- Supervise children in rooms where these safety tips have not been followed.
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I guess it is time to ban TV's and appliances if this many children are killed as a result. So if 1 child dies every 2 weeks on average then that is approximately 26 deaths per year. Where is the outrage - that is more than were killed in CT. I'm not trying to diminish the tragedy in CT but it goes to show you that there is more behind the "gun ban action" than saving lives.
We should ban the TV and the crazy people who worship them. We should also restrict the number of remote's one person should have. How many more people will have to watch the liberal news and be brainwashed by it before we do some thing? It's time to act. "TV's do not waste minds". Liberal programming does. Solution? get rid of the TV.
I guess it's time for the justifiers for limitless and uncontrolled assault weapon proliferation to try to use childrens deaths from other products to callously try to bend possible logical conclusions to their own predetermined narrative. It actually is seen by others in a different way: we're glad we have a gov that is able to collect useful product data that once the populace is informed we can make intelligent descisions, such as improve package warnings and products. The NRA has worked behind the scenes to prevent the gov from collecting similar data on gun products because they know that the facts will harm their reactionary rhetoric and industry-loving policy suggestions.
I guess it is time to ban TV's and appliances if this many children are killed as a result. So if 1 child dies every 2 weeks on average then that is approximately 26 deaths per year. Where is the outrage - that is more than were killed in CT. I'm not trying to diminish the tragedy in CT but it goes to show you that there is more behind the "gun ban action" than saving lives.
We should ban the TV and the crazy people who worship them. We should also restrict the number of remote's one person should have. How many more people will have to watch the liberal news and be brainwashed by it before we do some thing? It's time to act. "TV's do not waste minds". Liberal programming does. Solution? get rid of the TV.
I guess it's time for the justifiers for limitless and uncontrolled assault weapon proliferation to try to use childrens deaths from other products to callously try to bend possible logical conclusions to their own predetermined narrative. It actually is seen by others in a different way: we're glad we have a gov that is able to collect useful product data that once the populace is informed we can make intelligent descisions, such as improve package warnings and products. The NRA has worked behind the scenes to prevent the gov from collecting similar data on gun products because they know that the facts will harm their reactionary rhetoric and industry-loving policy suggestions.