Kidsafe Red Alert for Parents on Deadly Unstable Furniture
Thursday, 25 August 2016 12:51
Kidsafe
In the wake of the tragic
death of a three year old Victorian boy after a bookshelf fell on top of him,
Kidsafe Victoria has issued a red alert for parents to conduct a safety audit
throughout their homes for unstable furniture.
General Manager of Kidsafe
Victoria, Jason Chambers said incidents commonly occur when children climb or
pull on furniture.
'Children are naturally
inquisitive and will not always use furniture as it is intended - for example,
they may use bookcases and shelves as a ladder to gain access to reach an item
that is stored up high', said Mr Chambers.
Household items commonly
involved in tip over injuries include TV's, bookcases and drawers.
Every year many children
are injured after furniture items fall on them. Between 2006 - 2010, 297 Victorian
children aged 0-14 years presented to emergency departments with an injury resulting
from a TV tip over. The majority of incidents involved children under 4 years
of age, with the peak of incidents occurring in children aged 2 years.
- Kidsafe Victoria's
tips to keep your children safe:
- Choose furniture items
with a broad and stable base.
- Test the stability of
furniture to make sure it is stable (e.g. pull out top drawers of a chest
of drawers and apply a little pressure to see how stable it is; make sure
the drawers do not fall out easily)
- Secure any unstable
furniture and items to the wall or floor with furniture brackets and/or anchors
(some furniture products will come with these products, otherwise you can
purchase them from hardware stores)
- Place locking devices
on all drawers to prevent children opening them and using them as steps
- Don't placing heavy
items on the top shelves or in top drawers as this can make furniture unstable
- Removing items from
the top of the TV or furniture that might tempt young children to climb, such
as toys, lollies and remote controls.
- Anchor your flat screen
TV to the wall or cabinet
- Push the TV as far back
as possible on the TV stand
Kidsafe Link for Online
Tips http://www.kidsafevic.com.au/home-safety/tv-and-furniture-tip-overs
Media Enquiries:
Ron Smith, Corporate Media Communications, Kidsafe Victoria - Mobile: 0417 329
201