Did your family buy a new TV for the holidays? Have you moved your old TV to your child’s room? Don’t skip the important installation step of securing the TV to the wall or furniture stand. 
Children like to climb and explore and TVs and other tall furniture can tip over and fall on them. Every 3 weeks a child dies from a television tipping over. Over the past 10 years, a child visited the emergency room every 45 minutes because of a TV tipping over. People of all ages in Northern California are also at risk from tip-over injuries in the event of an earthquake, so secure your furniture even if you do not have small children in your family.
- Assess the stability of the TVs in your home.
- Mount flat-screen TVs to the wall to prevent them from toppling off stands. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that you have a secure fit.
- If you have a large, heavy, old-style cathode ray tube (CRT) TV, place it on a low, stable piece of furniture.
- If you no longer use your CRT TV, consider recycling it. To find a location to safely and easily recycle unwanted TVs, go to www.GreenerGadgets.org
- Use brackets, braces or wall straps to secure unstable or top-heavy furniture to the wall.
- If you purchased a new TV, make sure to secure your old TV that you have moved to another room.
These tips will help get you started, but if you’re interested in learning more about how to keep your family safe from TV and furniture tip-overs, visit http://www.safekids.org/tv.
