FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 21, 2012
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jackie Hirschhaut, 336/881-1016
INDUSTRY WORKS TO REDUCE FURNITURE TIP-OVER ACCIDENTS
New Consumer Research Suggests Homes Are Not As Safe As Parents Believe
HIGH POINT, N.C. – On average, one child dies
245 Child Fatalities
every two weeks from injuries caused by a
2000-2010
television, piece of furniture or household
appliance falling on top of them.
TV only
40%
The American Home Furnishings Alliance
TV+
furniture
29%
(AHFA) has worked for more than a decade on
Furniture only 27%
safety measures specifically designed to reduce
Appliances
4%
the number of furniture tip-over accidents – most
of which also include an unsecured television.
But recent research indicates that trends in
today’s electronics marketplace may be creating
new hazards for households with young children.
In March AHFA conducted a telephone
survey of 1,000 U.S. households on the topic of
furniture safety. Specifically, AHFA attempted to
determine what precautions, if any, parents are
taking to prevent furniture from tipping over,
particularly in households with children under the
age of 6.
Source: ConsumerProduct
“Surprisingly, 31 percent of the general
Safety Commission
population and 36 percent of the households with
children under age 6 said they already have
anchored either their TV or their furniture to the wall to prevent tip-over accidents,” reports
Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of public relations and marketing. “In fact, only two out of ten
households with small children said they ‘strongly agree’ that they are concerned about furniture
tipping over.”
In addition to anchoring televisions or furniture to the wall, 66 percent of the households
with small children reported keeping cords out of reach; 64 percent said they keep TVs and other
heavy objects on sturdy, lower height-furniture; and 47 percent said they keep the remote, toys
and other items that could possibly attract their children off of the top of the TV or the furniture
holding the TV.
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“These responses sound encouraging, but two other questions in the survey revealed
somewhat contradictory information. This leads us to believe that many households may not be
as safe as parents think,” Hirschhaut notes.
First, despite reporting that their televisions are on “sturdy, lower height” furniture, 38
percent of the households with small children say they have placed a TV on a dresser, and one
out of ten has used a bookshelf – two of the most dangerous places to keep a television.
In addition, respondents in nearly a third (30 percent) of the households with a child
under age 6 say they have moved an old TV into a child’s room.
“Flat-screen style televisions continue to come down in price, making them more
affordable for more American households. But when the new flat screen comes into the family
room, the old, tube-style television not only ends up in a less-supervised room, it is often placed
on unsuitable furniture,” Hirschhaut points out.
AHFA plans to use results of its research to help develop an updated safety message for
households with children. Past safety campaigns have emphasized tips for preventing tip-over,
including:
 Always place the heaviest items in the lowest drawers of storage pieces.
 Do not set TVs or other heavy objects on top of furnishings not specifically designed
to accommodate TVs and heavy objects.
 Never allow children to climb or hang on drawers, doors or shelves.
 Never open more than one drawer at a time.
In addition to these warnings, AHFA will add the following points in its messages to consumers
this year:
 Always place TVs on sturdy, low bases. In households with children, always anchor
furniture and the TV on top of it.
 Don’t create a temptation to climb! Keep remote controls, toys and other items that
might be attractive to children off TV stands and/or the furniture holding the TV.
 Keep TV and/or cable cords out of reach.
 Use the tip restraints provided with any new furniture, and purchase tip restraints for
any existing furniture in your home that could potentially tip – whether or not it holds
a TV.
###
The American Home Furnishings Alliance, based in High Point, N.C., represents more than 200 leading
furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.
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BACKGROUND ON THE VOLUNTARY FURNITURE TIP-OVER STANDARD
The residential furniture industry has had a voluntary furniture tip-over standard since 2000. It
was updated in 2004 and again in 2009.
The latest update added the requirement that all furniture covered by the standard –
including chests, dressers, door chests, lingerie chests, bureaus, armoires and any other storage
units more than 30 inches in height – be shipped with a tip-over warning label, tip restraints and
directions for using the tip restraints. “Media chests” for the bedroom – a relatively new product
category now common in most bedroom furniture collections – were specifically added to the list
of covered products in the 2009 revision.
To meet this voluntary ASTM standard, an empty unit cannot tip when any doors are
open and all drawers are open two-thirds of the way or to the “stop,” whichever is less. It also
cannot tip when one drawer is open two-thirds of the way and a 50-pound weight is applied to
the center front the drawer.
A separate UL standard covers TV stands. The electronics industry does not have a
stability standard for televisions.
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