Parents warned after alarming number of flat-screen TV tip-over deaths in children
Flat screen TVs, though seen as the source of the ultimate entertainment experience are becoming more of baddies these days. It’s not that their performance has waned or anything. It’s just that these darn things, if not carefully installed could well wreck havoc in your peaceful home. A study conducted recently has revealed that over the past 18 months in the UK, 4 toddlers have died due to TV sets falling on them, in which atleast one incident involved a flat-screen TV.
The study conducted by the Centre for Injury Research and Policy at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio discovered that between the years 1990 and 2007, about 15,000 children under 18 years of age were admitted in emergency wards due to injuries caused by falling furniture. It also found that in 2002, a startling 9,300 in the UK visited hospitals after sustaining injuries from television-related accidents, among which 2,300 consisted of toddlers under five.
Parents are thus being warned about the dangers involved with flat-screen TV sets that are not installed properly. They are being advised to ensure freestanding and flat-wall-mounted TVs are secured well enough to avoid any mishaps. Errol Taylor from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said that now is the time to talk about safety as “many families are likely to have a new set for Christmas.” The society has advised parents to ensure that freestanding LCD TVs are secured on a wide table and wall-mounted TVs are well-attached to a solid surface.
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