The recent deaths of two San Diego-area babies who were crushed by falling television sets prompted officials at Rady Children's Hospital Thursday to warn parents to take precautions by anchoring furniture and electronics.
"Several children have been seen in the hospital's trauma unit after being injured by falling televisions and/or furniture," said Sue Cox, trauma services director at Rady Children's Hospital.
"Circumstances vary, but in most of the cases it involved the child attempting to climb to get to a television and either pulling the TV off the furniture or more often pulling both the furniture and television onto themselves," she said.
An 11-month-old Oak Park girl was killed Saturday at her family's home in an accident involving a television set. On Tuesday, a 21-month-old girl died after a television fell on her in Sorrento Valley.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 8,000 to 10,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year because of "tip over" injuries from furniture and televisions.
Many of the injuries in San Diego included tall dressers and bookcases with televisions on top of them that were not secured.
To prevent injuries, parents should anchor or brace furniture to the wall, place televisions on a low piece of furniture or as far back as it will go, and make sure TV stands are sturdy, can handle the weight and won't tip over, according to Children's Hospital.
Televisions should be anchored to the wall with an appliance strap, according to Children's Hospital.
Television stands should also be cleared of any items that children might climb to reach including toys, movies, books, VCRs and DVD players.
