Parents can do a lot to childproof their homes: Put medicine up and away. Place baby gates on the stairs. Put cabinet locks on cabinets. But what about checking their TVs?
Injuries and deaths from TV tip-overs happen far too often. Every 45 minutes in the United States, a child is rushed to the emergency room because of a TV tip-over injury, and every three weeks a child dies from a television tipping over.
Safe Kids Worldwide has partnered with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to make homes safer by encouraging families to recycle their old TVs. As part of this effort, Safe Kids and CEA urge parents and caregivers to do a quick check of all the TVs in their home to make sure they are safely secured and properly placed. Heavier box-style TVs placed on dressers or high furniture can tip over and cause serious injuries, even death, if they fall onto children.
“Parents may not think about their TVs when they’re childproofing their homes,” said Kate Carr, Safe Kids Worldwide president and CEO. “It just takes a few minutes to look around your home. Check to see if your flat-panel TV can tip over. If you have an older box-style TV, make sure it is on a low, stable piece of furniture. And if you aren’t regularly using it, consider recycling it.”
Safe Kids encourages families to include TV safety as part of their childproofing plans by following these tips to help keep kids safe:
• Secure your TV. If you have a heavier box-style TV, make sure you either secure it to a wall or place it on a low, stable piece of furniture that is appropriate for the TV’s size and weight.
• Recycle your TV. To find a location near your home that safely and responsibly recycles unwanted TVs, go to GreenerGadgets.org.
• Secure your flat-panel TV. If you’re replacing your CRT TV with a new TV, be sure your flat-panel TV properly is secured with a mount that has a safety certification by an independent laboratory (such as UL, CSA, ETL).
For more TV safety tips, visit safekids.org.
This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.