Parents of small children: please secure TVs, bookshelves, dressers (toddler, wife, girls)

[JustJulia]

Those of you with little ones, especially those who like to climb, please consider securing furniture and heavy televisions to the wall with furniture straps or other appropriate hardware. There was a recent story in my area about a 6-year-old boy who died when a large TV fell on him. From the articles, it sounds like he was climbing on it. Some kids climb bookshelves or dressers to reach something, and they can pull it over on themselves.

My own daughters were about four and six when they tried to climb a dresser to put a videotape in a TV on top of it, and they pulled the whole thing over. Thank God but the TV stayed plugged in, and the sturdy cord kept it from falling all the way over on top of them. That was a frightening experience that could have ended much worse than it did, with two scared girls and some mashed fingers and bruises from all the drawers falling out. We always used straps with tube TVs after that.

Nowadays, more people have flatscreens that are mounted to the wall, or at least not as heavy as the old TVs, but please look around your house at bookshelves, dressers, and other top-heavy items.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8413193

[Sonata36]

Heck, I have to secure stuff so my wife doesn't knock stuff over. Makes it easier when the kids are older. (On a serious note, everything should be secure properly anyway, kids or not.)

[springfieldva]

So tragic and what a nightmare for those parents. My heart goes out to them.

[EvilCookie]

wow, we've secured our dresser and bookshelf because we've got a 22-month old, but I would've thought by the time they're 6 they would know better to not do stuff like that. I guess you never know...the other thing is of course keeping an eye on them all the time, I guess it doesn't stop even after toddlerhood. Scary.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by EvilCookie

wow, we've secured our dresser and bookshelf because we've got a 22-month old, but I would've thought by the time they're 6 they would know better to not do stuff like that. I guess you never know...the other thing is of course keeping an eye on them all the time, I guess it doesn't stop even after toddlerhood. Scary.

It doesn't even take a person to knock something over. A couple of nights ago our cat squeezed himself between a 6-foot tall bookcase and the wall. (Only his little cat-self knows why.) We have everthing secured because we're earthquake paranoid but if it hadn't been strapped to the wall it probably would have fallen over. It was pretty scary to see it moving back and forth.

[Sabinerose]

Dew just brought up my thought... we secured everything to the walls when we were living in the Seattle area because of the likelyhood of earthquakes. It just so happens that we were living there when the kids were still little, so it was already done.

What a tragic event for the family. My heart goes out to them - I can't imagine the pain of losing a child.

[Marlow]

We had neighbors whose entertainment center fell over on their toddler. He was saved because one corner of it--no more than about 6 inches--caught on a chair and kept it from hitting the floor entirely with him underneath it. There was broken glass everywhere.

[Percentage]

Originally Posted by springfieldva

So tragic and what a nightmare for those parents. My heart goes out to them.

Same here. OMG i really have to child proof the house now before my little rascal is old enough to start touching things. Thanks for the wake up call OP...