Falling TVs Can Kill

Did you know that every 3 weeks a child dies from a TV tipping over? According to the USA Today and Safe Kids Worldwide, it's true. However, very few parents are aware of the risk.

According to the USA Today, more than 200 children have been killed since 2000 from falling TV sets.

An update from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows 29 people, mostly children, were killed by falling TVs in the USA in 2011 alone, making it one of the worst years on record for such tragedies. And 18,000 people a year, mostly children, are treated for injuries from falling TVs, the commission says.

 

It's happening despite the widespread switch to lighter flat-screen TVs. In fact, safety experts say the switch may be making the problem worse as consumers take old, heavy sets out of their family rooms and put them atop unstable bedroom dressers and playroom shelves.

 

"Children will climb up on furniture to try to turn the TV on and there goes the heavy television as well as the piece of furniture," says Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the commission. The TVs alone, weighing 50 to 100 pounds, can crush a child, she says.

 

"These TVs are on shelves never designed to hold them," says John Drengenberg, director of consumer affairs at Underwriters Laboratories, which sets safety standards for TVs and other products.

 

But flat screen TVs are falling on kids, too, and a new survey shows few parents are installing those in the safest way.

Who knew? Parents, watch your kids around those TVs.