The REAL Danger of Television to your Toddler - Toddlersafetyzone.com Toddler Safety Article

We often hear that television is not good for children, especially babies or toddlers. Studies are often cited speaking of the problems associated with developmental delays from watching television on a regular basis. Today I would like to speak of another study that may reveal a more direct danger to the health of your toddler.

In a 2006 study, pediatricians at the University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center reviewed a year's worth of emergency department cases involving children injured by television sets toppling over. The falling of these television sets was usually due to toddler attempting to climb the television or television stand. Their findings appear in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Academic Emergency Medicine.

Here are some facts to consider:

85% of parents who were interviewed for the study we completely unaware of the potential danger of a television tipping onto a toddler.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that 2,300 children annually visit emergency rooms for injuries due to falling televisions.
Tube type televisions are very front heavy, making them quite easy to tip

"Our data indicated a lack of parental awareness and an absence of primary prevention as a root cause for this problem," said Dr. Floyd Ota, assistant professor of pediatrics at Univeristy of Texus - Southwestern and lead author of the study.

Unfortunately, this study really hits home with my friends and family. My best friend's three year old brother was killed by a falling television when I was attending my first year of college. This was an absolutely devastating experience for me, and led to my eventual early withdrawal from college. My hope is that by sharing my knowledge of this danger more accidents like this can be avoided in the future.

The danger from a tipping television can be deceiving. It is easy to think that a toddler would have a difficult time pulling a heavy television set down on himself, but the weight distribution on a tube type television is such that all of the weight is towards the front. It does not take much pull to tip a television set forward.

What should I do to protect my toddler?

With the advent of newer LCD televisions, wall mounting has become a viable option. Not only are LCD televisions lighter, but they are thin enough to mount on the wall. If you have an older tube style television, we at Toddler Safety Zone recommend that you strap the television to the stand or entertainment center. The stand or entertainment center should be strapped to the wall. Always make sure your stand is well built and large enough to safely hold the television. As we say so many times on Toddler Safety Zone - always use common sense and carefully consider potential problems with your television.

For Harley