From the time that babies begin to move on their own, they use furniture to help get from their knees to their feet. As their mobility increases, that same furniture becomes their Mt. Everest. Why do they climb? To children it is part of their learning experience. To a parent witnessing their 4 year old on top of the refrigerator after cookies, there is some admiration along with disbelief and a bit of abject terror. Parents are always concerned when their children become too adventurous, but refrigerators rarely topple and many other household furnishings may present far greater danger. In an eighteen-year study (1990 – 2007) which appears in the online journal Clinical Pediatrics, researchers said they had found a 40 percent increase in injuries involving toppled televisions, shelves, and other household items. Researchers question whether enough is being done to make them safer. An average of 14,000 Americans under the age of 17 make trips to the emergency room for such injuries each year and about 300 accidents result in death. The researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio looked at injuries involving 12 types of furniture, including desks, dressers, and cabinets. Most injuries involve children 6 and younger and the most common piece of furniture involved was a television. The most serious injuries involved 1 to 3 year olds, and head and neck injuries were the most frequent problems. Older children who were injured usually suffered lower body injury. In 25 percent of the cases the children were pulling or climbing on the furniture. The study’s senior author said that the study was not complete because data was collected only on injuries treated by medical personnel and did not include any data on untreated injuries so the actual number of injuries could be much higher. The researchers urge parents to strap or bolt chests, shelves, and other tippable furniture to walls or to secure them to the floor. They encourage consumers to buy furniture with wide legs and more stable bases. Televisions, particularly older front-heavy models should be placed on low stands at the back of the base piece of furniture to reduce the possibility of tipping. Never place toys or other attractive items on top of the furniture as it may tempt children to climb to get the object. According to Don Mays of Consumer Reports “ASTM-International publishes a voluntary safety standard to minimize the risk of tipping furniture, but testing by Consumers Union has shown that it’s not difficult to find furniture on the market that doesn’t comply with the standard. More importantly we found furniture from major manufacturers that is still dangerously tippy notwithstanding its compliance with the standard. We’ve been working with ASTM to strengthen the standard and a new, improved one is scheduled to be published within the next few months.” Regardless of government mandates or safety standards the safety of home for children lies with the parents. Check the furniture in your home to see if it is wobbly and presents a tipping hazard, and at the same time look around at other things that could be a concern for your small children.
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