Safer at Home: Secure Your Furniture and TVs to Prevent Tip-over Injuries

Garrett County Early Care Programs
Prevent Child Injury / Healthy Families Garrett County

For more information, contact:
Garrett County Health Department
Early Care Programs – Healthy Families Garrett County

Safer at Home: Secure Your Furniture and TVs to Prevent Tip-over Injuries

Recent data show the number of children killed or injured due to furniture and TV tip-overs has decreased significantly, but work on this issue is not done. With news stories, recalls, and legislation driving momentum to make our homes safer, Healthy Families Garrett County is joining the effort to reach even more Garrett County residents with the message to anchor furniture and televisions.

A 2020 survey found that while most consumers had heard about tip-over injuries, not all took precautions: 469 children were killed by tip-overs in 2017-2019, and thousands more were seen in emergency departments. These numbers show that more work is needed to continue the progress on reducing this type of injury.

Nationally, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission coordinates the Anchor It! campaign, which provides information about tip-overs and easy, low-cost ways to secure furniture and TVs throughout the home. An important way to prevent tip-over injuries to children is to install anti-tip straps or devices, which many manufacturers include with furniture and appliances or can be purchased at home improvement stores and online.

With a few minutes of time, the right tools, and the right anti-tip kits, Garrett County families can ensure that every child who lives in or visits their home is protected from furniture and TV tip-over injuries. 

• Secure furniture and TVs to the wall with straps or brackets.
• Mount TVs to the wall when possible, and only put TVs on furniture designed to hold TVs.
• Keep items off the tops of dressers and other furniture so children are not tempted to climb them.
• Look for reported safety issues regarding furniture and other items in your home at www.SaferProducts.gov and follow instructions for any items that appear on the list.

For more information about tip-overs, visit www.AnchorIt.gov.

Prevent Child Injury is a national group of organizations and individuals, including researchers, health professionals, educators, and child advocates, working together to prevent injuries to children and adolescents in the U.S.  Prevent Child Injury promotes coordinated public communication about prevention of child injury, which is the leading cause of death of our nation’s youth.  To become a member of Prevent Child Injury or for more information and resources on this and other injury topics, please visit www.preventchildinjury.org.

For more information on child injury prevention and to learn about family support services available in Garrett County, contact the Garrett County Health Department-Early Care Programs where you can speak to a Registered Nurse through our “Nurse Warm Line”. You can reach us at 301-334-7720. Early Care Programs provides support to families and children that empowers parents to give their child the best beginning in life!