Is your home safe for children?

Posted by Help Now on Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 at 9:46am.

Moving into a new home? If you have children, it's a great time to make sure your home is safe for the smallest members of your household. Did you know that the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that nearly 15,000 children visit emergency rooms every year because of injuries caused by overturned furniture? Most of those injuries happened at home, involving children younger than 7 years.

So how do these injuries happen? Generally, they come from climbing. Children spot a toy atop a dresser or bookshelf and decide to monkey their way to it. The unfortunate result is that the child’s weight tips the furniture over. When it comes to television sets – which constitute about half of all injuries – the problem usually comes from oversized screens being placed on tables or cabinets that can’t support them.

What can you do to keep your children safe? Here are some tips we found from Parenthood.com:

  • Remove toys and other enticing objects from the top of your furniture. The goal is to take away the temptation that may cause your child to climb.
  • Make sure your television is mounted on an appropriate stand. You also may want to consider securing your set with a strap or fastener.
  • Install drawer stops on large pieces of furniture that keep drawers from sliding more than two-thirds of the way out. When drawers are over-extended, the weight may cause the furniture to tip. Fasten large pieces of furniture to the wall using brackets or straps. An alternative is putting towels or wedges beneath the front legs of a dresser or bookshelf to shift the weight to the back.

About the Author:

Utah Dave - Neighborhood ExpertUtah Dave - Daybreak Neighboorhood Expert and Local Resident

My friends nicknamed me Utah Dave in high school because they said it didn't matter where we went in Utah, I would know how to get there and who we needed to talk to. The name sticks today as UtahDave has formed into a professional real estate network of Neighborhood Experts all across the state. I live in Daybreak with my wife and 4 amazing children. I enjoy dancing (which is how I met my wife Dawn) as well as traveling, coaching, and learning.

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