Anchor Furniture

Prevent Serious Injuries

I know everyone knows about anchoring furniture, but as someone who’s recently seen a bookshelf fall onto a toddler (not my own thankfully, but still equally scary), here’s a timely reminder. Anchor all your furniture, appliances, and TVs!

Maybe you installed your furniture before you had kids. Maybe you don’t live in an area prone to earthquakes. But if you have kids in your house regularly, even ones that don’t belong to you, please take the time and effort to secure them safely with proper anchors designed for that purpose. Don’t count on other furniture or walls to prevent things from tipping onto your child.

Any piece of furniture taller than 30 inches height poses a falling hazard. If you’re in doubt, anchor it anyway. Your walls can be repaired. Your child may never recover. While falling hazards might not sound like such a big deal for an adult, they can crush kids. Accidents can happen in seconds, even with you standing near your child. Don’t take chances with safety. If you need more anchoring devices, you can get them for free from most furniture companies. Or order more online. The majority can be installed with a screwdriver or hammer, though an electric drill makes the job go faster.

Anything from shelves and televisions to dressers and appliances (I’m looking at you, changing table!) should be firmly secured to the wall to avoid tipping. I hope you never see the injuries from these types of accidents. Think your kids are safe once they start elementary school? Not necessarily. They become more adept climbers and more likely to seek out goodies and other things placed up high any way they can. Need more help figuring out how to keep furniture safe? Check out the tip-over awareness campaign from OECD for more info.