For children, our homes are packed with hidden dangers. One of the most insidious sits in the center of your living room: the television. It’s true, tipping TVs are far scarier than most parents realize! 

Little explorers may not consider the risks when they decide to reach for the television... but parents should!

Even while being closely watched by an adult, they can and will get into mischief. In this age of lighter, thinner televisions, many people don’t even consider them to be a falling threat. Unfortunately, they are. A flat-screen television can fall with the force of a thousand pounds. In turn, this can lead to head and internal injuries. It can even prove fatal.

Did you realize that between the years 2000 and 2016, more than 300 people have been killed by tipping TVs? The majority of these victims were children. Often they were younger than the age of six.

At Child Safety Store, our primary concern is helping to keep children safe. Whether it comes to hiring a babyproofer or protecting your baby from accidental scratches, we want to spread the word.

Today, we’re sharing some tips to help prevent tipping TVs.

Tipping TVs are Preventable

Anchor the TV to the Wall

Keeping the television out of reach will always be a homeowner's best defense. That’s where wall-mounting comes in handy. A properly installed TV wall mount must be bolted directly to a wall stud or crossbeam. That stud or crossbeam will provide a solid reinforced base for the mount. This will stand up to the weight and pressure of the hanging flat-screen far better than weak drywall or plaster. 

A proper wall-mount will keep the television high and inaccessible to little hands. That should eliminate the worries of tipping TVs.

Use an Anti-Tipping Strap

For many homes, wall-mounting a TV simply isn’t an option. That’s okay, there is still a viable safety option. A specially-designed strap can be attached to the television and the wall to help prevent any accidental tipping. Just like the anchor, the anti-tipping strap should also be secured directly to a wall stud.

This strap requires far less structural damage than mounting, but they still provide an excellent safety solution. At Child Safety Store, we sell KidCo's Anti-Tip TV Strap.

You can watch our full review of the product below:

Hide the Cords

Now that you’ve managed to secure the TV, don’t neglect those dangling cables. Bright red HDMI cords may seem quite enticing to curious little ones. Pulling on these can carry the risk of electric shock. Even worse, one good yank could bring the entire entertainment system tumbling down. It is far better to keep them out of sight or, even better, hidden behind the walls.

Beware of Climbers

Parents should also be wary of the furniture around and under the television. Little climbers love to clamber up anything with a foothold! In particular, dressers and large pieces of furniture, especially those with drawers on the bottom can pose a serious risk to curious kids.

A clever child can easily open the drawers to use as a makeshift stairway for reaching items stored on taller pieces of furniture. They may even wish to climb up and touch the exciting TV screen. When possible, any available piece of furniture should be securely fastened to a wall.

At the very least, when arranging a room, parents should carefully consider the placement of enticing book shelves, TV stands and dressers. After all, toddlers and small children are no match for the weight and force of a television or a large piece of furniture suddenly toppling over. In the US alone, someone is injured every 15 minutes from a tipping piece of furniture.