Imagine this. Your rambunctious energizer bunny 3-year-old daughter climbs onto the 14-inch model TV and it starts to tip forward onto her. I have no local statistics, but according to a recent US press release on the study, more than 98 percent of homes in America have at least one television and one household out of every four purchases a new model each year. That turnover pattern, the University of Texas Southwestern researchers’ note, leads to unfamiliarity with issues such as size, required safe clearance, and weight distribution.

The majority of the weight on your standard TV set is in the front of making it easier for a climbing baby or toddler to pull it over on top of them. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 2,300 children visit emergency rooms for injuries due to falling TVs annually. Dr. Floyd S. Ota, an attending emergency department physician at the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and an assistant professor of pediatrics for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, says that injuries sustained from falling TVs are to all parts of their body. “The most common injury was to the head (intra-cranial bleeding, skull fracture, bruises and lacerations), and the next most frequent were to the extremities in the way of fractures and bruises” says Dr. Ota. “A few children had multi-system injuries. Nine children required hospital admission, two in the ICU (intra-cranial bleeding). One went to the operating room for repair of a large facial laceration. No child died. However, there have been deaths reported in the medical literature. Most of the injuries were minor; however, the potential for sever injury exists.”

A 1½ year old boy in my pediatric practice died instantly from a toppled TV and the “aparador” where it was stored. A recent University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study indicated a lack of parental awareness as one of the major causes as was the case with my male patient. The accident occurred when the toddler was left alone in the bedroom. Parental awareness is more than half the solution.

There are things that both parents and manufacturers can do to avoid this type of accident. “Manufacturers can manufacture TVs that are not “front loaded”, which makes them easier to tip over,” says Dr. Marcus Hanfling, medical director of the Harris Country Hospital District Pediatric Injury Prevention Clinic in Houston, Texas. “They could also provide a strap or anchor that would provide the TV added stability so it would not be prone to tipping over. Manufacturers should also add labels warning of the potential danger of units toppling.”

As far as what parents can do to prevent this type of injury, the remote control devices and CD’s need to be kept off the top of TVs. Deciding the location of the TV is as crucial as a double-edged sword fall,” says Dr. Hanfling. “It will have less energy and will not likely impact the head unless another sibling causes the tip over. However, the lower the TV, the more likely a child will be able to reach it and tip it over. The higher the TV, the more likely the piece of furniture might be unstable and therefore more prone to being over. TVs should be placed upon very stable furniture that is anchored to the wall. The TVs themselves should be anchored to the furniture or wall.”

Like most accidental injuries to children, falling televisions can almost be completely prevented. It just takes awareness, diligence and a few simple precautions. I have co-authored three editions of Preventive Pediatrics for the Philippine Pediatric Society distributed nationwide. Armed with that undertaking, I find the following tips by Dr. Floyd Ota excellent reminders of how we can all prevent a falling television from injuring our children:

• Secure the TV or furniture it sits on to ensure that it cannot topple over.
• Do not put items on top of the television that a child may want to grab.
• Limit play activities around the television.
• Make sure the display area is stable and sturdy.
• Monitor your child as best as possible.
• Talk to your children about the dangers of falling televisions.