by Lori Cunningham

Editor’s Note:  SANUS has teamed up with Safe Kids Worldwide to alert parents about the rising number of kids’ injuries due to TV’s tipping over on them.  They are offering  WellConnectecMom readers the chance to win a SANUS VuePoint F180 Large Full-Motion TV Wall Mount, a $90 value, to one of our lucky readers.  See the end of this article to see how to win it.

I was shocked to learn that according to the consumer Product Safety Commission, a child is killed every 3 weeks from an unsecured TV set.  Wow.  I remember when we had our first baby, we bolted all the furniture in the baby’s room to the wall.  Our one TV was secured in a recessed bookcase, but 10 years ago, the TV was so big, it couldn’t fall on you, roll over you perhaps!  But with today’s TV’s ,they are heavy and they are lean and if they fall on you, they are mean.  Even a 32 inch set weighs as much as 3 bowling balls!  Imagine that landing on your head.

Even though TV’s come with a sturdy footed base, they can easy topple over if pulled at by a child.  Kids love to climb furniture and furniture not bolted to the wall will tumble.  Between 2000 and 2011, there have been 215 fatalities due to TV’s tipping over and over over 100,000 people, mostly kids, were treated for injuries from TV’s tipping over.  And the number of reported cases are growing from 25% in 2006 to 31%, due to the increasing popularity of flat screen TV’s.

There’s no doubt that most parents intend to secure their TV’s.  But the truth is, once the TV comes home in it’s box, everyone is excited to begin using it right away.  Often the intention to secure the TV is delayed a day or two…or really indefinitely once a routine gets set and the safety concern gets pushed to the back of one’s memory.

SANUS has a great website, TVSafety.org, to learn more about the risks of TV’s topping over as well as they best way to fasten down your TV.  Below is a graphic I found from their website showing the number of injuries in the US related to TV’s.  Although the majority of accidents relate to children 10 and under, adults are getting hurt too.  Every 45 minutes a child is being admitted to the Emergency room due to an unsecured TV.

The best way to secure your TV is by mounting it to the wall.  Installation is easier than you think with SANUS’ wall template that helps you with an even placement of your TV.  SANUS also has an online video installation video to walk you through it.  Everything you need to install with is in the kit and even better, SANUS provides live customer support six days a week.  It may seem like a hassle to place your TV on a mount, but once you get into it, it goes fast and it’s worth the potential danger an unmounted TV can cause your children.

WIN IT!

Are you concerned about your flat screen TV sitting on the table or about to buy a new one?  Enter to win our contest to win an industry leader SANUS TV Mount for yourself!  We are giving away the full tilt SANUS VuePoint F180 TV Wall Mount, valued at $90.  This mount works on TV’s from 32 inches to 60 inches.  You can read more about it on Wal-mart’s site.   Sign up below and increase your chances of winning by following the prompts below.  The contest will be open until July 3rd.  The contest is only available for residents of the United States.  Oh and sorry, installation is not included, but no fear, SANUS’s instructions makes mounting easy.

Good luck, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway