When it comes to television sets in the U.S. today, the trend is – the bigger, the better.  Consumers can now grace their homes with TVs that have screens that measure seventy inches and greater.  The majority of households in this country have at least one TV, with many households having two or more sets in the home.

A TV is a great source of entertainment for the whole family, from mom and dad all the way down to young children.  Unfortunately this source of entertainment can also be a source of danger for children according to a recent study published in a pediatric journal.

In the past twenty years, approximately 200,000 children have been seen in the emergency room due to injuries received by falling televisions.  Most children injured are under five-years-old, and the most common injuries are to the head and neck.

According to the lead author of the study, these injuries are increasing at an alarming rate.  Dr. Gary Smith said that in 2011, 12,300 children received treatment in the ER for TV-related injuries.  In 1990, only 5,455 children received treatment in the ER for the same reason.  In twenty years, the injury rate for children injured by falling TVs nearly doubled. Since January 2012, at least six children have died from injuries due to falling TVs.

The study found that many of the children were injured by older, heavy TVs placed on dressers in bedrooms.  The children would pull out the dresser drawers, climb up, reach the TV and the set would fall over on them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) states that as consumers buy new flat screen TVs, they move the heavier, older TVs into bedrooms for their children.  Unfortunately many times these TVs are placed on dressers and other furniture not sturdy enough to hold the heavy sets, and this creates a hazard for the children in the family.

CPSC suggests consumers anchor both flat screen TVs and older, heavier TVs to the wall or the floor with brackets or other such tethers to prevent injuries to their children.

Original story found here.