Dresser tip-over causes toddler death - PSA

[2xx1xy1JD]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... gic-death/

I'm posting this and hoping that the message gets out there.

As parents, we worry a lot about fairly remote risks like stranger danger - but are often blind to serious safety risks right in our own homes. According to this article, furniture tip-over accidents kill one toddler every two weeks.

I know how easy it is for tragedy to occur. When The Boy was 4, he opened some of the drawers in our room, started to climb up, and had the whole dresser fall down on him. It was easily my scariest parenting moment. Luckily, the dresser fell at a slight angle, so the main point of impact was a corner that hit the carpet. He was pinned under the dresser, but miraculously had only scratches. Still, he could have easily been killed.

IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, SHELVES AND DRESSERS MUST BE ANCHORED TO THE WALL. Not just in the child's room, but everywhere (I didn't expect that our master bedroom dresser would be the one to tip).

[Grimalkin]

I remember a fundie light homeschooling family that had this happen to them with their youngest. Its awful. I also thought of that story while reading about the quadriplegic lady in the other thread.

It is a good reminder anyway about keeping your house safe.

[Snarkylark]

:( yep, it happened to mine once, too. She was fine but it could have been really bad. Secure anything littles can climb up to the wall.

[imokit]

Our family is fortunately paranoid about that too. Thus its the people who should no better (teens) who seem most at risk, still they're less breakable than the toddler set :whistle:

[DGayle]

I have friends who are IKEA-die-hards who have that dresser and say it came with the anchor, and we all agree that Ikea shouldn't have to recall millions of dressers because some people decide not to anchor their stuff, and that anchor kits are available at any hardware store for cheap if you have something that didn't come with a kit.

[Firiel]

I have friends who are IKEA-die-hards who have that dresser and say it came with the anchor, and we all agree that Ikea shouldn't have to recall millions of dressers because some people decide not to anchor their stuff, and that anchor kits are available at any hardware store for cheap if you have something that didn't come with a kit.

I don't think they are doing a recall. They are offering free anchoring kits instead (which makes sense to me).

[doggie]

This is not really a furniture issue. leverage and gravity is the problem. the dresser would have to be pretty deep to prevent this on it's own. so ikea can't really be blamed. it just needs to have a wall anchoring system.

[catparty]

I don't know how long ago this was, but I remember reading about a kid whose dad's tool cabinet fell onto him and he suffocated between it and the car bumper.

I'm not one of those WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN safety sheriffs, but it feels like a good idea for mass-produced shelving to include anchors as well as a big fat red warning label so that people are more aware.

I couldn't imagine if that happened to me. It really is a tragic, tragic accident, but I'm sure those parents will be blaming themselves forever.

[formergothardite]

I remember a fundie light homeschooling family that had this happen to them with their youngest. Its awful. I also thought of that story while reading about the quadriplegic lady in the other thread.

It is a good reminder anyway about keeping your house safe.

I don't remember the name of the family but I think I remember discussing it here. It was such a tragedy.

[UnPitchPerfectViolin]

Great reminder. I've anchored all the large objects in my home to the walls, too, because you just never know when the occasional child-visitor will decide to climb them!

In the same vein, another household danger that can cause near-instant death to babies, toddlers, and younger children, look no further than pull cords on window blinds. There have been many reported deaths due to strangulation, and death occurs in a minute or less. Children, and even babies, wind the cords around their necks and can choke or hang themselves, sometimes even with parents in the room, backs turned for less than a minute. This can happen even if the cords are "childproofed" and clipped or wound up out of reach. If the child doesn't die, they are often permanently brain damaged due to loss of oxygen. See Parents for Window Blind Safety, a non-profit org, for more details. They also have many videos on their YouTube channel.

I had no idea this was possible until my pregnant sister replaced her window blinds with much safer materials. She sent me a terrifying re-enactment youtube video she had found while googling baby-proofing. You can find the video "In An Instant" on YouTube, posted by RedCastleMedia or on the Parents for Window Blind Safety. The video has good information, but it does show simulated child death, plus pictures of some of the many children who have died, :cry: .

[browncoatslytherin]

Thank you for posting! This is something I'm going to have to start worrying about next year.

[Lissa1481]

Great reminder. I've anchored all the large objects in my home to the walls, too, because you just never know when the occasional child-visitor will decide to climb them!

In the same vein, another household danger that can cause near-instant death to babies, toddlers, and younger children, look no further than pull cords on window blinds. There have been many reported deaths due to strangulation, and death occurs in a minute or less. Children, and even babies, wind the cords around their necks and can choke or hang themselves, sometimes even with parents in the room, backs turned for less than a minute. This can happen even if the cords are "childproofed" and clipped or wound up out of reach. If the child doesn't die, they are often permanently brain damaged due to loss of oxygen. See Parents for Window Blind Safety, a non-profit org, for more details. They also have many videos on their YouTube channel.

I had no idea this was possible until my pregnant sister replaced her window blinds with much safer materials. She sent me a terrifying re-enactment youtube video she had found while googling baby-proofing. You can find the video "In An Instant" on YouTube, posted by RedCastleMedia or on the Parents for Window Blind Safety. The video has good information, but it does show simulated child death, plus pictures of some of the many children who have died, :cry: .

This happened in the town next to us. I think the boy was four. So so horrible.

[Firiel]

Thank you for posting! This is something I'm going to have to start worrying about next year.

Wait, WHAT?! Well, that's exciting!!!

Tell us more!

[browncoatslytherin]

Wait, WHAT?! Well, that's exciting!!!

Tell us more!

well i just found out earlier this month. i'm not even as far along as initially thought because my cycles are irregular, so last week when i went in for an ultrasound, they were expecting 8w3d but the jellybean ended up measuring about 7w2d. there's sooooo much information i'm taking in right now, i swear i'm probably going to need to make a file and organize it all, cuz while big things are obvious, little things like anchoring dressers aren't really at the forefront of the thought process.

[Firiel]

well i just found out earlier this month. i'm not even as far along as initially thought because my cycles are irregular, so last week when i went in for an ultrasound, they were expecting 8w3d but the jellybean ended up measuring about 7w2d. there's sooooo much information i'm taking in right now, i swear i'm probably going to need to make a file and organize it all, cuz while big things are obvious, little things like anchoring dressers aren't really at the forefront of the thought process.

Awww, congrats! :) I'm happy for you guys!

[VelociRapture]

well i just found out earlier this month. i'm not even as far along as initially thought because my cycles are irregular, so last week when i went in for an ultrasound, they were expecting 8w3d but the jellybean ended up measuring about 7w2d. there's sooooo much information i'm taking in right now, i swear i'm probably going to need to make a file and organize it all, cuz while big things are obvious, little things like anchoring dressers aren't really at the forefront of the thought process.

That's so exciting!!! Congratulations!!!

Don't worry about things too much right now. You've still got a ton of time to get things done. :D

[greycat]

Where I worked once a girl said she had to leave early because her son had pulled the dresser on him and it was bad. We all were freaking out and covered her work for her. I mean the way she was talking the little boy was headed to the hospital. We found out through another co worker that she had been lying and just wanted to go home early. None of us talked to her anymore and she quit shortly after that.

[wotdancer]

I babysat a little girl who did this (while her parents were home, so I wasn't there), and it's such a miracle that she lived, and now is caught up developmentally 5 1/2 years later!