Is anchoring your furniture recommended? Is it necessary in all households? Yes you may have heard of TV tip-over accidents here and there but you may be thinking: maybe these are just likely isolated cases of hyperactive children and inattentive parents, right? Unfortunately, furniture tip-overs are more common than you think. In this article we focus more on anchoring furniture in general but you can also anchor televisions too.
The Numbers
According to Anchor It, a campaign created by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, every 24 minutes a child in the U.S. is injured as a result of a TV or furniture tip-over incident. Some other important figures you should know:
- 81 percent of tip-over fatalities occur in the home.
- 2/3 of TV and furniture tip-over fatalities involve toddlers.
- 42 percent of tip-over fatalities occur in a bedroom.
- One child dies every two weeks when a TV or furniture falls onto him or her.
This is one of the top hidden hazards at home and some children have even died because of this. The Anchor It! campaign is the CPSC's call to action to educate parents and caregivers about these dangers in the home. This involves a simple, low-cost preventive measure to keep these tragedies from happening. So how does anchoring furniture work?
Some Tips
In purchasing furniture restraints or anchors, remember that not all devices are created equally. Your furniture might have come with small plastic cable ties but we do not recommend you use them.
Televisions, especially the heavier ones, should only be placed on furniture designed to hold a television, such as television stands or media centers. Mountable furniture such as flat-screen TVs should be mounted properly to prevent them from toppling over.
Remove items that might tempt kids to climb, such as toys and remote controls, from the top of the TV and furniture. Or better yet, remove everything that might fall or tip-off that you cannot anchor.
Ensure that restraints are tight and regularly check them. Many products require the installer to tighten them during the last step of installation. There should not be slack in the furniture strap/anchor.
If you are not confident in installing your anchors by yourself, consider hiring a professional childproofer to help. They are experienced and very familiar with the proper installation of furniture restraints so that you can sleep better knowing your furniture or TV is secured.
Where to Buy
So where exactly do you purchase these straps? These anti-tip devices are now sold online and even in-stores so there is no excuse not to buy them. Consumers can visit their local home improvement, electronic or mass merchandise store to purchase anti-tip devices too. Your child's safety depends on proper anchoring of furniture so do invest in these things.
