Secure all furniture and televisions in the house with proper bracing techniques.

Kids trying to reach the top shelf can end up toppling the whole bookcase.

05-05-09 RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Having a child in the house requires a total home makeover. But even the most vigilant parents who baby-proof every cabinet and make sure there’s not a sharp object in sight can miss the danger posed by furniture that could topple onto a child. According to a study published this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, falling furniture injuries among children are on the rise, with nearly 15,000 kids hurt each year.

THE DETAILS: Research conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that injuries among children related to falling furniture were up nearly 40 percent between 1990 and 2007 when compared to the early '90s. After examining data from the national Electronic Injury Surveillance System, researchers found that three-quarters of the injuries occurred in children age 6 or younger. Nearly half of the injuries resulted from falling televisions, but bookcases, dressers, and desks also sent children to the emergency room, most often with head and neck injuries. In 70 percent of the cases, the furniture or televisions tipped for no clear reason. More than 18 percent involved a child pulling the TV or furniture onto himself or herself.

WHAT IT MEANS: Along with baby-proofing cabinet doors and making sure medications are out of reach, parents should inventory their homes for large items of furniture that could topple and injure a child. Here are some fixes to start with:

• Choose the right stand. Tipping televisions can cause serious injury or even death. Place your television on a stand meant for that purpose, preferably one with a low, wide base. Check weight and size limits before you buy it, to make sure it can handle your TV.

• Place and secure the TV. Push the television as far back on the base as possible. As an added precaution, strap all TVs to a stable stand and/or the wall. Avoid using dressers as TV stands because they’re not meant to support that weight.

• Brace it yourself. Big pieces of furniture, such as dressers and bookshelves, should be secured to the wall using safety straps, L-brackets, or other secure attachment devices. If the proper attachments didn’t come with the furniture, look for them at a hardware or home improvement store.

• Don’t partake in top-shelf teasing. Don’t put your child’s favorite toys, or the highly sought-after remote control, on top of the TV or on the top shelf of a bookcase. Kids may try to climb up to get them when you’re not looking.

• Pay attention to drawers and legs. To cut back on bedroom injuries, install drawer stops so kids can’t pull them out more than two-thirds of the way. When choosing desks for your home, look for ones with wide legs or solid bases that avoid easy tipping.

• Cut cord clutter. TV and appliance cords should be tucked away so a child doesn’t pull or trip over them.