Tipping Point – Avoiding Furniture Injuries in Climbing Toddlers
Starting in early toddlerhood, around 15-18 months of age, I begin to ask about climbing. Toddlers are amazing climbers, and the world (including the inside of their homes) is their playground. They quickly figure out how to get on the couch, and up onto dining room chairs – which leads to tables and counters as well. Fall risks become a very real thing once toddlers begin to climb.
But it’s not just falling that becomes a dangerous prospect for climbing toddlers. Many times what they choose to climb on is less stable than we would assume, and the risk of furniture falling ONTO these toddlers is actually fairly high. There are countless examples of dressers, bookshelves, TV stands, and other tall pieces of furniture tipping over onto unsuspecting climbers. Depending on the size of the furniture and the angle at which it falls, these can cause serious injury, including concussion, traumatic brain injury, and internal bleeding or broken bones. Severe crush injuries can even lead to death of a young child.
Per reports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, between 2000-2019 there was estimated over 11,000 emergency department visits annually for children under 18 years of age, with 469 deaths. Predictably, most of these deaths occurred in children under the age of 6 years. This is both heart-breaking and preventable with education and effort.
Prevention tips
- Attach furniture to the wall with brackets. This is especially important for tall pieces that are easy to climb, such as bookshelves, dressers, console tables. Learn how to do this easily at AnchorIt.gov
- Load heavy items into bottom drawers
- Remove decorative legs from dressers or shelves, if possible.
- Mount televisions on the wall or secure them with brackets
- Televisions should only be placed on furniture items that are specifically designed to hold them.
- Avoid placing toys or other eye-catching items on the top of furniture, so as not to tempt young climbers to reach them.
As a Pediatrician, I belong to an organization called Prevent Child Injury. For the next week their focus is this precise topic: prevention of furniture tip-overs. There will be a lot of information given about this over the next week, including a Twitter Chat (@PreventChildInj) on Feb 1 at 2pm ET if you are interested in learning more.
Do not assume that your furniture is too heavy to tip over. When a child climbs on a dresser or bookshelf, it puts extra weight on one side of the furniture piece and causes an unbalance that can result in even very heavy pieces to fall over. This is especially true when dresser drawers are pulled out and used as steps.
Do not assume that if you install drawer latches to prevent opening that your child will not figure out another way to climb.
Do not assume that your older child “knows better.” Children will climb to reach something they want to reach. They do not naturally think about consequences.
Do not assume that your child will not have access to every room in the house. Sometimes certain rooms are “off limits” to children, but there is always a chance that the door will be left open, or that your child will be in there with you.
Do not assume that your child is safe as long as you are in the room. Like many in-home accidents, tip-overs occur fast, usually too quickly for you to respond in time.
Final thoughts
Like many childhood injuries, tip-over injuries are preventable! It takes a little bit of time and planning, but the benefits are completely worth it. No parent is able to watch his or her child every second of the day. It is important to make your home as safe as possible. Stabilizing furniture and televisions should be part of the regular child-proofing process in your home:
Outlet covers – check!
Baby gates – check!
Corner guards – check!
Furniture brackets – check!
Keep those curious climbers safe as they explore!
Resources
Header image from anchorit.gov free image library
Consumer Product Safety Commission report: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2020_Tip_Over_Report.pdf?nhwAgmMt9YXGhkqfsN75hMCNYgBTe5OJ
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