Toppled TVs pose increasing threat to kids
As more Americans upgrade to big-screen TVs, they may be unwittingly putting their children at risk.
Televisions falling onto children are causing an increasing number of severe head and neck injuries, according to new research published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.
Over the last decade, the number of such injuries has risen sharply, and experts warn that the trend could become even more dangerous as TVs get larger and more affordable.
"Parents have to be aware that TVs can seriously harm children," lead author Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said in a statement. "But these injuries are highly predictable and preventable."
Televisions are present in 97 to 99 percent of American homes, according to estimates, and many aren't properly fixed to walls or stable bases. As TVs become bigger and heavier, they're more likely to cause fractures and intracranial hemorrhages, which can be fatal, Cusimano warns.
The paper is based on an analysis of 29 studies that looked at TV-related head and neck injuries in seven different countries. The results showed that 84 percent of reported injuries occurred at home, and three-fourths of these injuries were not witnessed by adult caregivers.
Children between one and three years old appear to be at highest risk, and their injuries tend to be more severe than those suffered by older children. Most injuries occur when toddlers climb onto furniture to retrieve objects such as toys, or when they bump into unstable TV stands, causing the TVs to topple onto them.
Since toddlers are usually shorter than TV stands, their head is most often the first point of contact.
"TVs are often placed on unstable bases, placed on high furniture like dressers, which aren't designed for TVs, or not properly secured to the wall," Cusimano said. "Meanwhile, parents are getting busier and busier and don't have as much time to supervise children, so it's not surprising that these injuries are getting reported more often."
Between 2008-2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 19,200 children in this country were hurt by falling TVs, up from 16,500 during the years 2006-2008.
The researchers compiled a list of strategies to help prevent these kinds of injuries. They include:
- Educating children, parents, teachers and medical professionals about the dangers of toppling TVs
- Advising caregivers to place TVs away from the edge of a stand and to avoid putting toys or remotes on top of televisions
- Having manufacturers produce shorter, more stable TV stands and making sure they include instructions on how to safely secure TVs to walls or bases
- Setting regulations on the kinds of support furniture and wall mounts used for TVs
- Establishing regulations for anchoring TVs to the ground or wall
"Too many children are sustaining head trauma from an easily preventable TV toppling event," Dr. Cusimano said. "We hope clinicians take a more active role as advocates for prevention of these injuries, legislators become more open to implementing changes to current regulations, and caregivers employ the suggested prevention strategies at home."
