Like many people, we have a flat panel TV that we love. It’s great for watching movies and my children love watching their favorite shows on it. However, most people are unaware of the safety risks that flat panel televisions pose to children. With the new, thinner designs and increasing sizes, the flat panel TV’s of today can easily tip over with just a bump or pull – causing them to topple off the furniture they rest on. This can cause significant injury or even death. With a three year old and one year old twins who are now hanging on every piece of furniture we have, this caused me to pause and really think about how safe my children are around our television.
So, when I was asked to share information about this risk, I immediately said yes. Not only do I see the need to spread the word to other parents, but I need to act as a parent to ensure my children are safe. Our flat panel is not mounted and I now know it should be…and soon will be.
SANUS, the leading designer and manufacturer of flat panel TV wall mounts is partnering with Safe Kids Worldwide to educate consumers and parents on the risk of unsecured flat panel TVs. This initiative offers safe solutions for families by reducing TV tip-over related injuries and fatalities.
A Few Starting Facts from a 2011 US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report on flat panel TV safety:
· A child is killed every three weeks from an unsecured TV
· Every 45 minutes a child visits an emergency room due to a TV tip-over related injury
· Between 2000 and 2011, 215 fatalities have resulted from TV tip-over
· An estimated 17,000 people each year, the majority of which are children, are treated for injuries from TV tip-overs
· Reported cases have increased almost 25% from 2006 to 2010, and over the last 10 years, injuries have increased by 31%
SANUS makes mounting your TV simple, so there is no reason not have this potentially life-saving feature for your television. Please look for my review of a SANUS TV Mount in the near future! SANUS TV Mounts can be found nationwide at Walmart.
Giveaway
One reader will win a SANUS TV Mount to fit their television.
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* Information contained in this post was provided to me for the purposes of sharing with my readers for their benefit. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
My hope is that people whether they have kids or not, get their tv’s mounted as soon as they are taken out of the box at home. Safety first as a preventative.
My gosh I had no idea how dangerous our TVs could be! Here I thought my house was baby proof!!