A new study released by two children’s safety advocacy groups calls for strong furniture safety standards to prevent children from being injured by tipping furniture.
Kids in Danger and Shane’s Foundation analyzed federal data and found that a child dies from tipping furniture, appliances, and televisions every two weeks. Two-year-old children are most at risk, according to the study. Also, head injuries are the most common injuries.
“What we are missing in this data are incidents that don’t involve injury and I think those happen every day,” said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger.
Lisa Siefert of Barrington founded Shane’s Foundation after her two-year-old son, Shane, died from a furniture-related accident. She urges parents to anchor furniture to walls.
“The result of this project can be the catalyst for change that will protect your children,” Siefert said.
Earlier this summer, IKEA recalled millions of its MALM model dressers over tip-over concerns. Affected customers can receive refunds or store credit. They can also contact IKEA for free furniture attachment devices.
Meantime, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Illinois) is working on a bill that would require furniture companies to take more responsibility.
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“All parents really deserve the peace of mind that their furniture in their homes is not going to injure or kill their children,” Schakowsky said.
The Kids in Danger and Shane’s Foundation study calls for furniture safety tests to be conducted on carpet, increased weight to be used in testing, and the elimination of current height restrictions.
Kids in Danger is encouraging parents to report tip-overs to www.saferproducts.gov.
The complete report can be found here.
