Watching young children explore the world around them is one of the greatest joys a parent will experience. Things can get exciting when you’ve got little ones on the run around the house.
However, as children get more independent and start exploring, they also get into everything—and we mean everything.
TV tip-overs are one of the top overlooked hazards in the home
As important as baby gates and safety latches are at keeping your little ones safe around the home, you must also protect your child from things that may topple onto them. One of the most significant risks is the TV, where inquisitive hands are often tempted to explore and climb. When you consider that most homes have multiple televisions — Nielsen’s Television Audience Report found an average of three per household — you can see how quickly the odds of danger can increase.
According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, TV tip-overs are one of the most overlooked hazards in the home. It estimated an annual average of 15,400 children were treated in ERs for injuries incurred during a tip-over, with most injured children between 2 and 3 years old.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has outlined several tips for avoiding TV tip-overs.
One of the most important is to place televisions only on furniture designed to hold them, such as TV stands or media centers. Trunks, tables, and especially dressers, whose drawers can be pulled out and used as stairs by small children trying to get closer to the screen, should not be used as TV stands.
Mounting flat-screen TVs to the wall is also a sure-fire way to keep the television safely out of reach. If that’s not an option, you also can anchor them to the wall or the furniture through the use of safety straps to prevent them from toppling over.
BDI offers TV Safety Straps designed to tether your TV to a BDI media cabinet.
Understanding the danger that TV tip-over can pose, BDI includes TV Safety Straps with all of our media furniture.
The BDI TV Safety Strap is specifically designed to tether a flat-panel or curved TV, utilizing the built-in mounting holes included on most TVs by the manufacturer. These straps allow the user to secure their TV and minimize the risk of tip over.
We began phasing in TV Safety Straps with our media cabinets in the Fall of 2015. If you own a BDI media cabinet that lacks a TV Safety Strap, and you would like one, don't hesitate to get in touch with BDI Customer Service, and we will be glad to provide one to you free of charge.
Although safety straps are an essential preventative measure to avoid TV tip-over, they are not a 100% guaranteed solution to prevent tip-over. Therefore, we recommend taking these additional safety measures to help ensure the safety of your little ones:
1. Install stops on all cabinet doors and drawers
2. Keep heavier items on lower shelves or in lower drawers to keep furniture from becoming top heavy
3. Don’t just keep remote controls out of reach — keep them out of sight so that children won’t climb after them
4. Use outlet protectors, power strip covers, and wire guards to decrease the risk for electric shock
5. Think beyond your living room. If your child regularly spends time with a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or family friend, ask what you can do to help them baby-proof their homes as well
Together, we can keep our kids safe.
Do you currently use safety straps on your televisions? If so, let us know in the comment section.
