Furniture Straps For Baby proofing Your House
Most of the parent’s talk about the baby safety gears like safety gates, electric outlets, locks and latches for cabinets and drawers etc. But they may not know the dangers of furniture, couch or appliance, TV, etc. that can tip over onto kids and cause serious injuries or death.
As per a report of, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in every two weeks a child dies because of heavy furniture tipping over them. On average 38,000 people are treated in emergency rooms with the tip over injuries related to heavy furniture or TVs. Two third of these injuries involved children younger than five.
CPSC started a national public education campaign- “Anchor It!” to prevent children from serious or killing injuries with furniture and TV tip-over. This campaign is aimed to spread knowledge about tipping furniture and TVs to reduce the number of deaths and injuries.
Here are some Tips to Prevent Furniture Tip-Over
Purchase furniture safety straps
You can purchase good quality safety straps to secure the furniture to walls. Not all devices are created equally. Avoid plastic cable ties that might have come with furniture. Plastic can break or degrade after some time and is not suitable for holding heavy furniture. We highly recommended you angle braces (L brackets) that work well for furniture.
Use Two straps For Furniture:
At least use two safety straps for each piece of furniture. Heavy furniture may need additional straps. For taller furniture firstly anchor the top piece to the base of the wall studs.
Fix into solid wood-
Make sure that straps are fixed properly into solid woods on the back or top of the furniture. Some furniture are not able to hold the installation of screw, because they have thin piece of wood or other material on the back.
Install straps to wall studs:
Install the straps with the wall studs to secure them properly. Sometimes people install them with plastic drywall anchors that are not secure. Make sure the size of the screw you are using is proper so that it can be installed securely to the wall stud.
Installed Straps should be Tight:
Make sure straps that are installed to secure furniture or TV are tighten during the last step of installation. The furniture strap/anchor should not be loose.
Hire a professional child proofer for the installation for the safety straps:
You should hire a professional child proofer as they are experienced with the proper installation of furniture straps. They can install these straps properly as compare to you.
Strap all heavy and tall furniture to the wall including dressers, changing tables TV’s, night stands, and bookshelves. This will help prevent tip over accidents for your Baby and Toddler.
Falls of furniture or TVs on kids are the number one cause of injury and fatality for babies and toddlers. Be sure to safety strap your TV, dresser, bookshelves or any heavy objects that may fall on your children.
Installing furniture straps to prevent baby dresser from tipping over. Falls are the number one cause of injury and fatalities to babies and toddlers.
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Visti the JPMA website for more safety information.