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How to Make Your Furniture Safe for Kids

If you live in a house where small children reside or visit, you’ve probably put away the breakables and covered the outlets. But here are some other safety precautions you may have missed.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

If you have kids or live in a house where kids often visit, then you’re probably familiar with putting your breakables away so that they don’t get broken and the kids don’t get hurt.

But one safety hazard that you may be overlooking is your furniture. And included in that furniture is your television set which could easily fall over and hurt a child.

To minimize risks, place televisions on units that are specifically designed to hold them, not unstable cabinets or tables. Make sure they’re low to the ground and pushed back as far to the back of the stand as possible.

Install straps that anchor the unit on the stand or attach them to the wall to keep them stable. And keep things that attract kids – like toys or the TV remote – out of sight.

Other furniture can also tip over. A table or cabinet can tip over easily especially if it’s already going in the wrong direction. Or say they wanted to know what would happen if you just tug on Daddy’s shirt on a coat rack … bad news.

Look for furniture with a solid base and wide-legs to keep them well balanced. Even toddlers have managed to pull over heavy objects. If you have any doubt whether an object is stable enough, just go ahead and anchor it to the wall.

A bureau is a great piece of furniture. We all have them but it can be very dangerous because when it’s open it becomes front heavy and can topple over. One good solution is to put drawer locks in place.

But also teach your kids never to climb on drawers, never to hang on drawers and also never open two drawers at one time. It just doubles the chances that it’s gonna go forward.

Glass tables are another hidden danger. Injuries usually occur when kids sit or fall on glass tables. Shattered glass and jagged pieces can cause serious injuries. You may want to reconsider that glass table, at least until the kids are bigger.

With a little common sense you can make sure your home is a play where kids can live and play safely.


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