SALT LAKE CITY – A new report says many parent are unaware of the potential dangers of televisions.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that nearly 350 people, mostly children, were killed between 2000 and 2011 from an object – often a television – falling on top of them.
Safety experts say switching from a heavy television set to a flat-screen unit could be part of the problem; they say heavy TVs get moved from family rooms onto unstable bedroom dressers and playroom shelves.
“There are several precautions that we can take to prevent this type of tragedy. Number one is supervision always with little children because the majority of these incidents happen not in the family room where you might suspect but in bedrooms,” said Janet Brooks, child advocacy manager at Primary Children’s Medical Center.
Experts also advise parents to secure furniture and heavy equipment to the walls. Brooks says children will climb on furniture to try to turn the TV on, and the TV alone can crush a child.
