Did you know that 81% of tip-over fatalities occur in the home? That every 15 minutes a child is injured from a falling piece of furniture or a TV? That's over 70 children every single day!
It happened in my home. It happened to my child. It could happen to yours.
Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a new tip-over awareness and prevention campaign called Anchor it! They also launched a great new website www.anchorit.gov where you can find a wealth of information and resources about the frequency and demographics of furniture and TV tip-overs. They explain not only why you should anchor it, but also how to anchor furniture and TV's so they can't tip and fall and cause injury or even kill children. Check it out, then share it with every parent, grandparent, and teacher you know!
If you make or sell furniture, there is important information on how you can be a partner in anchoring it, not only to keep consumers safer in your store, but how to be an advocate for making sure their children are safe once the furniture and TV's you sell them leave your store!
The statistics are startling
Not sure if or why you should anchor it? Watch this video from the CPSC. Another new PSA that shows how to anchor furniture: Anchor it! 30 second PSA
Meghan's Hope is proud and honored to be a partner and adviser to the CPSC on this amazing National awareness and prevention campaign.
My first interaction with the CPSC was shortly after Meghan died. I wrote to the then commissioner, notifying him of Meghan's death and inquiring as to why there was not greater public awareness of the dangers of furniture tip-over. He replied, offering his condolences but also stating the CPSC was looking into this danger more closely.
Fast forward a little over ten years and a lot of advocacy work, I am proud and honored to be a consultant, ally, and advocate of the CPSC's new Anchor it campaign. It launched yesterday morning! Hopefully, you saw a news story, tweet, or Facebook post about it. It is my hope that today, you share this blog and the Anchor it website on your social media channels and with everyone you know who has a child under ten in their home or who visits their home. Use the hashtag #anchorit
This is an amazing awareness and prevention campaign and a life saving message but we need your help to get the message out there. We need to educate parents and get this information and these resources into their hands so they can anchor it and get on top of tip overs before their child does.
Meghan's Hope is also a valuable resource. Meghan's story is a compelling one to motivate parents to take this danger seriously. Our resource lists provide information on what furniture and TV anchors are available and where to buy them as well as what not to buy!
Nothing I do will bring my Meggie back to me, but if she can save another child's life, her death will not have been in vain. Please, anchor it today!
It happened in my home. It happened to my child. It could happen to yours.
Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a new tip-over awareness and prevention campaign called Anchor it! They also launched a great new website www.anchorit.gov where you can find a wealth of information and resources about the frequency and demographics of furniture and TV tip-overs. They explain not only why you should anchor it, but also how to anchor furniture and TV's so they can't tip and fall and cause injury or even kill children. Check it out, then share it with every parent, grandparent, and teacher you know!
If you make or sell furniture, there is important information on how you can be a partner in anchoring it, not only to keep consumers safer in your store, but how to be an advocate for making sure their children are safe once the furniture and TV's you sell them leave your store!
The statistics are startling
- Three children every hour are injured in a tip-over accident. That's 72 children EVERY DAY.
- 42% of tip-over fatalities occur in the bedroom
- A child dies an average of every 2 weeks from a tip-over accident. That's 26 children every year. Even one death is too many. Trust me.
- An estimated 38,000 people are injured every year from a fallen piece of furniture or a TV. Adults can be injured or killed too, not just kids!
- 2/3 of TV and furniture tip-over accidents happen to toddlers
- A TV can call with a force of a thousand pounds (think 1 bowling ball for every 10 pounds something weighs, plus the force of the fall. Would you want even one bowling ball falling from a height of 3 feet onto your child's head? Now imagine a hundred bowling balls falling on your child at once...)
- Every 15 minutes, someone in the U.S. is injured in a tip-over
- The majority of injuries involve head injuries. Sometimes they result in lifelong disability. Sometimes they are fatal.
Not sure if or why you should anchor it? Watch this video from the CPSC. Another new PSA that shows how to anchor furniture: Anchor it! 30 second PSA
Meghan's Hope is proud and honored to be a partner and adviser to the CPSC on this amazing National awareness and prevention campaign.
My first interaction with the CPSC was shortly after Meghan died. I wrote to the then commissioner, notifying him of Meghan's death and inquiring as to why there was not greater public awareness of the dangers of furniture tip-over. He replied, offering his condolences but also stating the CPSC was looking into this danger more closely.
Fast forward a little over ten years and a lot of advocacy work, I am proud and honored to be a consultant, ally, and advocate of the CPSC's new Anchor it campaign. It launched yesterday morning! Hopefully, you saw a news story, tweet, or Facebook post about it. It is my hope that today, you share this blog and the Anchor it website on your social media channels and with everyone you know who has a child under ten in their home or who visits their home. Use the hashtag #anchorit
This is an amazing awareness and prevention campaign and a life saving message but we need your help to get the message out there. We need to educate parents and get this information and these resources into their hands so they can anchor it and get on top of tip overs before their child does.
Meghan's Hope is also a valuable resource. Meghan's story is a compelling one to motivate parents to take this danger seriously. Our resource lists provide information on what furniture and TV anchors are available and where to buy them as well as what not to buy!
Nothing I do will bring my Meggie back to me, but if she can save another child's life, her death will not have been in vain. Please, anchor it today!
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