FAQ

Meghan’s Hope

Raising Awareness About the Dangers of Furniture Tip-Over

Are your walls and possessions more precious to you than your child? If not, why do you ask?

Sure, small holes will be put in walls and furniture or strong adhesive to televisions and/or walls/furniture. This may hinder the resale value. Does it really matter that much? Tethering devices can almost always be installed so they are not seen. Holes in objects can be repaired. Your heart, when broken because your child has died, cannot ever be fixed.

Wrong.

Play is the work of children. Even if your child can parrot back the ‘rules’ to you, it doesn't mean they will follow them when playing or when they REALLY want to get that (fill in the blank). Kids, think they are invincible and don’t recognize danger when they are in the moment. It’s our job as parents to make their environment as safe as possible.

Even if you have a hard time moving a piece of furniture because it is heavy there is this thing called physics that comes into play. If you fully load a piece of furniture, open drawers and hang a 20-50 pound weight on an open drawer, it will likely fall forward. Most ‘well made’ furniture is particle board on the back and they are top and front heavy therefore more at risk of tipping. NO piece of furniture or television is safe unless it is properly tethered to the wall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Unless you want to bury your own child. YES!!!

No parent who has lost a child expected it to happen to them. Why not do everything you can to keep them safe? I never thought it would happen to us either.

Question 1 The risk is so low my child will die, do I really need to be concerned?

Question 2 We have top of the line furniture. It’s sturdy, heavy and well made so it’s safe, right?

Question 3 My child knows not to climb and other safety rules so I don’t need to be concerned, right?

Question 4 Won’t securing furniture and TV’s to the wall cause damage to them and look bad?

Even the best parent is never truly within arms reach of their child all the time. We were asleep when Meghan’s dresser fell on her. We heard nothing. She couldn’t cry to alert us. I’ve heard from many parents who were IN THE ROOM with their child when a dresser or TV fell and they couldn’t get there fast enough to stop it from happening.

Even if you hear the object fall, it may be too late. So many of Meghan’s friends in heaven had adults in the next room and yet did not survive. The child may have a head injury or other injury that takes their life in an instant.

Question 5 I never leave my child alone and even if something happened I’d be able to save them, right?

Email us at info@meghanshope.org