Falling TVs dangerous for children at home

Make sure your TV is safely secured around kids

CLEVELAND, Ohio – It's a hidden danger in nearly every home: Thousands of children are being treated in U.S. emergency departments each year after being hurt by falling televisions.

Dr. Michael Macknin is a pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital. He says there is one place a television should not be placed if small children are around.

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"You don't want to put it on a set of dresser drawers because the children will pull out the drawers, they'll walk up the drawers to get the television and the television will fall on top of them," Macknin said.

A study in the journal "Pediatrics" found about half of all television-related injuries are caused by a TV falling off of a dresser or armoire. 30 percent of the injuries happen when a television falls off of an entertainment center or TV stand.

Researchers say kids five years old and younger are hurt the most, and boys account for 60 percent of all cases.

A non-profit advocacy group called "Safe Kids Worldwide" recently polled a thousand parents and found only a fraction of them had their flat-screen or older cathode ray tube TV properly secured.

Researchers also say that nearly half of those polled had an older model TV on top of a dresser.

Macknin recommends placing your television on a stand that sits low to the ground and using safety anchors or anti-tip devices to secure it.

To decrease the risk of injury even further, you should avoid putting the remote control or toys on top of the TV.