Here are a few surprising facts, every 3 weeks a child dies from a TV tipping over and thousands more are injured every year. These tragedies have increased by more than 30% over the last 10 years.
Television (TV) sets have certainly evolved over the years – gone are the days of those giant heavy boxes that were practically impossible to carry by one person. Over the years, TV’s have gotten more and more streamline and as a result they are easier for little fingers to grab ahold of and are not as stable as they could be.
It is vital to ensure that any TV in your home is installed in a way that does not pose a hazard to kids.
More and more kids are being severely injured by falling TV’s and most of these accidents could have been prevented. Children who are victim to these accidents usually sustain severe head or other injuries when they are trapped under the weight of the TV.
There is however safety precautions that parents can take when setting up in order to secure your TV to keep their little ones safe:
Mount it
When possible, the safest choice is to mount the TV to the wall. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to have the best and safest fit possible. When mounting it to the wall, make sure you have at least one other person to help you to prevent potential accidents.
If wall mounting is not feasible, you could also use a TV anti-tipping strap, L-brackets and tethering devices.
Stability
If you are unable to mount your TV, check that your TV is stable where it is placed.
New or old – secure it
Whether the TV is new or old, you have to secure it. If you are not able to mount it, put it on a low TV stand which is specifically designed to hold a TV of that weight. Push the TV as far back as possible while keeping it stable. If it tips or rocks you will want to secure it or even move it to a safer location.
Get rid of it
If it’s not worth the risk, you can recycle or donate an old heavy TV and buy a lighter one. Regardless of the size secure it to a wall or anchor it to an appropriate TV stand with a strap designed for that purpose.
Via SafeKids.org