Household Safety Tips | TV tip-overs & General Appliance Safety in the Home
About a year ago our family purchased our first flat panel television. Up until that point I had never realized what a potential hazard flat screen TV’s could be for children. Our old tube televisions were extremely heavy and if knocked accidentally by a child they didn’t even wiggle. When we unboxed our first HDTV and I saw how small the base was and how large the screen was I became concerned. On the stand the television was wobbly I could just imagine a child knocking it while playing nearby or swinging a toy around and hitting it causing it to topple over… possibly onto them.
In a 2011 report, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed that a child is killed every three weeks from TV instability, and that an estimated 20,000 people are treated in the ER every year due to injuries from tipping TVs. Alarmingly, the issue is growing; This same report indicated that injuries from TV tip-overs have increased 25% from 2006-2010.
Making the home a safe environment is a concern of every parent. Many spend hours baby proofing down to table corners, but hazard proofing for TVs is often overlooked because most people are unaware of this danger.
The statistics are eye opening.
Did you know that…
Deaths:
· A child is killed every three weeks from TV instability.
· 176 deaths were reported from 2000-2010 due to tipping TVs; 96% of these fatalities were children 10 years or younger.
· 16 deaths were reported from tipping TVs in 2010.
Injuries:
· There were approximately 89,800 emergency room visits related to TV tip-overs from 2006-2010.
· 71% of tip-over related injuries happen to children 10 years old and younger.
· There were an estimated 20,000 TV tip-over injuries in 2010.
· Tip-over-related injuries grew by 25% from 2006-2010.
What is the solution?
TVsafety.org is a consumer awareness website that was created to educate the public on this growing danger and present safe solutions to protect families. It is the site’s goal to help reduce TV-related injuries and create a safe environment for all to enjoy.
The most secure way to avoid injury is to mount your flat-panel TV to the wall. We found out quickly that mounting a TV to the wall is easy! Most mounts do not require special tools… just a stud finder, a drill and screwdriver! If wall mounting is not an option, you can also secure a safety strap to both the TV and the wall.
Connect with TvSafety.org & Sanus products:
BUY IT:
You can purchase a Sanus Television Wall Mount on their website
WIN IT:
ONE OurKidsMom reader is going to win a Sanus TV Mount for their flat screen tv (valued at $100-$150)
Rules:You do not have to be a blogger to enter/win. An email address is required to enter. The winner will be chosen randomly through Rafflecopter and contacted via email. A reply to the winning email is required within 48 hours before a new winner is chosen. One person entering per household please. US ONLY please.
This giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on November 20, 2012.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This post brought to you by Sanus and tvsafety.org. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product may differ from mine. The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment and will be shipping the winner(s) their prize(s). For more information read my disclosure policy.
I learned you can search the states and see where many of the accidents happened from kids climbing and tv’s hitting them. It almost happened to my son’s kids, I was in the room and my grandchild decided to climb the dresser and I caught it just as it was coming down. It had the tv on it and would have hit him in the head also
I learned about furniture mount systems. That would be great in our living room as we live in a condo and our tv is on a shared wall. (I want to wall mount a tv in our bedroom, it would save so much space and be safer!)
I learned that tv’s can be killers; they can crush little kids.
You can enter your zip code and find out how many tv related incidents have happened near you!
I never really thought about TV safety – the new TVs are so much lighter than the old ones that it doesn’t seem like they could do much damage – but they really can!
there’s a lot of injuries due to not mounting theses tv’s the right way
You can enter your zip code and find out how many tv related incidents have happened near you!
I didn’t realize that a TV could be dangerous.
Visited the site and learned about tv related incidents near where I live from typing my zip into the map, very scary.
Very nice grea tso nice great!
You can enter your zip code and find out how many tv related incidents have happened near you.
I learned that for some reason tv related accidents seem to be clustered in certain areas, and that there is a cool drill free Furniture Mount System that you can attach to the back of furniture.
I entered the Neato robotic vacuum giveaway.
TV’s can seriously injure or even kill children if they fall
I learned that you can look up TV relate injuries on this website.
The map is really interesting. There are none close to me but I don’t want to be on it and we’ve had some close calls. I personally would love to get rid of our large old tv (not flat screen) It’s heavy and we’ve had some close calls.
I learned that there were 89,800 emergency room visits from 2006 – 2010 related to TV tip overs.
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That my TV can crush my kids 🙁
I never thought of using a safety strap but that is good idea as well
I LIKE THE FURNITURE MOUNT SYSTEM.
I entered Neato Robotics Pet & Allergy Robotic Vacuum XV-21 GIVEAWAY.
tvs are big hazards
I learned how common injuries from falling flat screen tvs are. So eye opening. I also learned that I can buy a wall mount for my TV at my nearby Target. very good to know
I learned that the average 32″ flat panel tv weighs as much as 3 bowling balls.
great sweeps! We use old Tv`s that very heavy so kids could not push them over.
I learned TVs can be heavy and dangerous.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
I learned that the average weight of a flat-screen TV is 50 lbs.
I learned that the was one death in Colorado from entering my zip code!
I never realized how severe an issue this was.
T.V.s must be mounted correctly…or else…
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I learned that on the tvsafety.org website, you can see where tv-related incidents have happened around where you live
first off I didn’t know that there was a TV safety site!!!!! I’m honestly amazed…..we just got our 1st flat screen tv and are actively looking for a TV mount I’m learning you have to do your homework on them ,like we did for the TV!!!!!!!!!!!!
I learned that tv’s can crush little kids. Scary!
I learned that the average weight of a flat-panel tv is 50 lbs.
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i never realized quite how often this happens!
I learned Mounting your flat-panel TV is the safest, most secure way to avoid injury. And with a wide variety of TV wall mounts on the market, you’re sure to find a perfect mount for your exact need.
Costco and Walmart are retail partners.
I learned their site has a store locater for mounting systems.
i found out a little boy had a tv fall on him last month near where i live
There haven’t been any deaths in my state. Sad wherever there have been deaths.
A safety strap can also help prevent serious injuries from happening.
that tv’s can be killers; they can crush little kids.
You can enter your zip code and find out how many tv related incidents have happened near you!
I like that you can learn tips on the website.
entered neato vacuum
I like that you can actually look up tv related incidents in your local area…it makes things more real to me.
I looked at the incident map and saw that a toddler in our county died last year after a tv fell on him, so so sad.
I need this! It’s not something I even thought about. We are getting ready to move soon, and if we can’t buy a mount right away, I will get a strap temporarily, like the ones I saw on the linked page.
That you can put in your zip and see how many incident sin your area
Mounting your flat-panel TV is the safest, most secure way to avoid injury.
I learned they are partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide.
I learned that there have been no injuries or deaths from TVs in my area. I like that they have this information available on their site.
I like the tilting mount.
This would really be amazing to win we have a huge tv and I am so scared it is going to fall on my little guy.
My worries would be over!
There have been 3 deaths in my state related to this. I had no idea.
safety first
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learned that tv’s can be killers; they can crush little kids
3 deaths in the Chicago area? GASP! I will be securing my TV
I used their interactive map and discovered that there have been about 2 dozen tv related “injuries” in my area. Fortunately no deaths, but the fact that so many people could be injured by a TV may be an indicator that I need to move.
I learned that there haven’t been any deaths related to TV falls in Maryland, but that there have been injuries.
I saw their incident map and it looks scary.
I learned that the average 32 inch flatscreen weighs 50pounds
I learned although there has been no deaths in this area due to tvs there has been other injuries.
I learned that you can look up TV relate injuries on this website.
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I learned how common injuries from falling flat screen TVs are.
Thanks for the chance!
I had no idea tht deaths had occured from TVs
I had no idea tht deaths had occurred from TVs
I learned that there was one death in my state. How sad.
Since 1988, Safe Kids has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by 53 percent
I like all the data and facts they have about t.v. safety. I never thought of those things!
I learned that there haven’t been any TV related deaths near me but there have been other injuries connected with TVs.
boylaneely at hotmail dot com
The TV could crush children that are smaller in size.
I used the map on the TV Safety site and saw all the injuries in my area and sadly also the one death I had seen on our local news. Be Safe.
OH my gosh, I put my zip in and found a lot of TV injury incidences around our area and one death. That is just so sad coming from an item used in most every home and not many of us think of it as a danger. And I actually thought the slim tv vs the heavy older ones were probably safer. Truth is, they are much more “tipsy” and with tiny ones so small, the injury could be very serious.
Thanks for letting us know about this. We definitely need to wall our TVs or get anchors for the old ones.
I leanred how unsafe these tvs can be
Tip overs cause a lot more injuries than I would imagine.
tv’s can be very hazardous
71% of tv accidents happen to children under 10
I never really thought about how unsafe TVs can be.
I just like the whole website, they have such great helpful tips that could save lives!
chrissylea1979 (at)gmail(dot) com
After looking at their statistics maps I was shocked at how many TV accidents are happening!
brich22 at earthlink dot net
i learned that their goal is to reduce TV-related injuries and create a safe environment for all to enjoy.
You can actually find out by your zip tv accidents that have happened by you
I learned that tvs can kill.
i learned that most tv accidents are caused by children tipping them over
i learned a child in ky was critically injured by a dresser and tv fell on them
i leARn they partner with safekids
nannypanpan@gmail.com
entered walmart, britax, lalaloopsy, neato step 2
i learned to be more careful with appliances . My children would love for me to win thank you for the chance
I am just floored by these statistics! I learned that families with young children should have a wall mount for their TV’s!
A child dies every 3 weeks because of unsecured tvs
I learned there were no injuries reported where I live.