Pam Goslar, PhD, studies safety for a living in her job at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. As program director for Prevention & Outcomes Research, she likes to match study data with first hand information from those on the front lines. So she talks with nurses, EMTs,medical residents — anyone at the hospital involved in caring for kids.
Recently,Goslar asked an intensive care nurse this question: If you could prevent any injury to children, what would it be? The answer came as a surprise to Goslar,who says the typical answer is drowning or near drowning. But the nurse said what bothered her most was “kids getting crushed by falling TVs.” Why? “Because that’s so easy to prevent.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 6,000 children each year are treated for injuries from falling bookshelves, television sets and tables. In 2006, the number of children who died resulting from these injuries doubled from the year before, and continues to rise. The numbers are also up at St. Joseph’s, which has treated children for injuries from objects like birdbaths, concrete planters, basketball hoops and wobbly gates, says Goslar.
But TVs are the biggest culprits. Trauma surgeon Forrest “Del” Moore, M.D., says most injuries he sees come from older, larger, cathode ray TVs — heavy in front and light in back — that sit on unstable bases. Young children climb up to change a DVD, get a toy or find the remote control and pull the set over on top of them. Moore says that because kids under age 3 are still “top heavy,” their heads tend to hit the floor first as they fall, causing brain and facial injuries. “If their whole body absorbed it, it might not be as serious,” says Moore.
Flat panel and projection-style TVs are less risky, according to an evaluation by ConsumerReports, but any TV weighing more than 100 pounds is a potential danger to babies and children. And as the summer travel season approaches, be aware of unsecured TVs, furniture and other possibly unsteady objects when staying in motels or visiting friends and relatives. Check with your child’s day care center or school as well; some accidents have occurred in these environments.
Above all, Moore says, parents need to stay vigilant. Take a walk around the house to check for items that potentially could fall. “It’s a problem that’s not going away,” he says. “Secure it to the wall — or get it out of the house.”
Safety tips
- Anchor furniture with L-brackets, available at hardware stores for as little as 60 cents each. Fasten the bracket to wall studs.
- TV anchors for wall TVs cost around $55. Straps are also available to attach TVs to furniture or to the wall.
- TVs should be on sturdy furniture appropriate for the size of the TV or on a low-rise base. Push the TV as far back on the base as possible.
- Placing a non-skid pad under the TV also may help. A stand with a lip can help prevent a TV from tipping.
- Don’t make it easy for children to climb on furniture.
- Avoid placing TV on furniture with drawers, as they can be used for climbing.
- Don’t place toys, remote controls or other tempting items on top of a TV or on tall shelves.
- Use cabinet locks on dresser drawers.
Source: Pam Goslar, PhD
