OCTOBER 7-11 IS FURNITURE SAFETY WEEK!
INTERIORS HOME joins with the Alliance4Safety this week to help raise awareness of furniture-related hazards in the home as part of the first Furniture Safety Week.
From 2013 to 2023, 58 children died when a piece of furniture tipped over on them, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Another 50 died during the same time period when a TV plus the furniture it was sitting on tipped over. Together these two types of accidents result in the death of one child every month.
Bunk beds, reclining furniture, and glass tabletops also contribute to serious childhood injuries, but safety advocates often label these “hidden hazards.” The purpose of Furniture Safety Week is to spotlight accidents involving furniture so parents and caregivers can take steps to prevent them.
The weeklong initiative involves manufacturers, retail stores, online stores, interior designers, parents, child safety advocates and others.
At INTERIORS HOME we are committed to doing all we can to help keep our customers and their loved ones safe. Here are 5 simple ways you can help keep everyone, especially children, safe at home.
1. Close the drawer on tip-overs.
Even lighter weight and shorter furniture can tip, so anchor anything with drawers or shelves toddlers might be tempted to climb. Store heavier items in bottom drawers and keep remote controls, toys and other tempting items off the tops of TVs and furniture where children can see but not reach them. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports thousands of children are injured every year due to furniture tipping over and falling on them, and more than 100 children have been killed in tip-over accidents since 2013.
Even lighter weight and shorter furniture can tip when children climb, so anchor anything with shelves or with drawers or doors that open. Anchor it even if you think it won’t tip, even if you think your child won’t climb! Accidents with unanchored furniture can happen in the blink of an eye, even when you’re in the same room with your child. Anchoring is easy and inexpensive, and complete instructions can be found on https://anchorit.gov.
2. Stay on top of bunk bed safety.
Bunk beds are a blast for kids and a great space-saver for small bedrooms (and big families!) But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says children under age 6 should never use the top bunk, and for good reason. More than half of all bunk bed-related injuries involve kids under 6. Current standards call for precise measurements for the top railings, NO finials or post extensions on the top bunk, and a detailed warning label that includes the exact-size mattress recommended for both bunks. Because of these precise safety standards, it is wise to skip secondhand options when selecting bunk beds, as older designs may not meet current standards.
3. Relax safely.
Reclining furniture is fascinating to small children, especially if it has power features. But fingers and limbs can be pinched by a folding footrest, so it’s best to keep kids (and pets) in view when closing your recliner or lift chair Relax, but keep safety in mind.
Never allow children to play in a reclined chair. It is especially important to pass these safety precautions along to grandparents, who may be more likely to own a lift chair. Over the last 10 years, there have been several incidents in which a toddler climbed under a recliner or lift chair while an adult was seated, and the child was seriously injured or killed when the footrest was closed or the lift chair was lowered.
4. Keep safety in clear view.
An estimated 2.5 million people – mostly children under 7 and adults in their early 20s – injure themselves on broken glass tabletops each year. Make sure glass tabletops, whether inside or outside, are made of tempered glass, which is stronger and breaks into small pieces rather than jagged shards. Manufacturers often mark tempered glass with a small “T” stamped along an edge. If you don’t see it, here’s another way to identify whether the glass is tempered: It has a distinctive grid pattern that is visible through the polarized lenses of sunglasses. If you see no grid, the glass is probably not tempered.
5. Stay tuned to TV safety.
If possible, wall-mount all TVs in your home. Place any units that cannot be wall-mounted on a low, sturdy cabinet, and secure the TV to the wall or to the furniture with a TV anchor. (Note that TV anchors are different from furniture tip restraints.) Never place a TV on furniture that was not built to hold electronics. Since 2013, nearly 100 children have been killed by TV tip-over accidents. You might think that TVs wouldn’t be as dangerous now that thinner LCD models have largely replaced heavy CRT televisions. Newer designs are lighter, but that doesn’t mean they are safe if unanchored.
A typical 75- to 77-inch LCD TV can weigh between 90 and 100 pounds! And if the TV is sitting on a piece of furniture that was not intended for electronics, especially if that furniture has drawers or shelves a youngster might be tempted to climb, the furniture might tip over with the TV, and that’s a deadly combination.
The Alliance4Safety was created in 2020 to convey health and safety information related to the COVID-19 pandemic to furniture companies and their customers. Its focus was expanded in 2023 to communicate a broader range of home health and safety messages to consumers.
These furniture safety tips are from the Alliance4Safety, sponsor of Furniture Safety Week. Photos from iStock.