A dream of mine has been realized and I'm one step closer to keeping the promise I made to Meggie when she died.  Gov. Baker has proclaimed June 2, 2021 Massachusetts Tip-Over Awareness day, which is the second in the nation tip-over awareness day.  I also owe the Lt. Governor and Governor of Massachusetts and those who helped to connect me with them, a debt of gratitude for helping this proclamation to become a reality.
 
I wrote to MA Governor Charlie Baker's office a few months ago to ask if he'd be willing to issue a proclamation declaring June 2nd Massachusetts Tip-Over awareness day.  This is something I've wanted to do for years, but with limited time to advocate and much of my focus of the past several years being on The STURDY Act in Congress, and the ASTM voluntary standards process, it was always on the back burner. 

In February of this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan declared February 7th, Super Bowl Sunday, Furniture, TV, and Appliance Tip-Over day, in particular to address the risk of TV tip-overs as many people purchase new TV's ahead of the big game and move older TV's to children's bedrooms or play areas, posing a risk of tip-over injury and death.  Her proclamation, the first in the nation to the best of my knowledge, inspired me to pursue a Tip-Over day proclamation in MA.  Which is now, so far as I am aware, the second in the nation Tip-Over Awareness Day.  Kudos to the state of MA for being a champion of child safety and in particular, tip-over awareness and prevention!

Through a friend, I was able to connect with an aide at the Lt. Governor's office, and after a conversation with her about my story, the statistics, and the history of the voluntary stability standard process and current pursuit of Federal legislation, I submitted draft text and supportive information for a proclamation.  It was a bittersweet moment when they got back to me to say June 2nd would be proclaimed MA Tip-Over Awareness Day!  When I received the proclamation in the mail, I cried. 

I chose June 2nd because June is the National Safety Council's Safety Month and the first week of the month is home hazard awareness week.  Tip-overs are a clear and present hazard in every single home, and one that despite 16 years of advocacy by myself and other parents who have lost their children to tip-overs since Meghan died, the vast majority of Americans are either still unaware of the very real risk of furniture, TV, and even appliance tip-overs and how to prevent them, or they mistakenly don't believe their child is at risk. This PSA from the CPSC should clearly demonstrate why any unsecured dresser is a potential deadly weapon.

It is my hope that with this proclamation in Massachusetts, the media will help me to increase not only awareness of the very real and ever present risk of tip-overs, particularly tip-overs of dressers and other bedroom furniture typically used to store clothing, but to educate the citizens of the Commonwealth how to prevent a potentially deadly tip-over from happening to someone they love and care for.  This proclamation has the potential to save lives. 

As I've written before, the day Meggie died, as I held her small, beautiful, lifeless body in my arms and rocked her in the UMass Pediatric Emergency Room, I tearfully whispered a promise to her that she'd be the last child to ever die from a dresser tip-over.  She was not, but I have since promised her I'd continue to advocate in her memory until we can get a law that will require manufacturers to build more stable and safer furniture (the STURDY Act) and retailers to sell only furniture that complies with the highest current standard. In the meantime, the most effective way to prevent tip-overs is to properly anchor furniture, TV's, and appliances to the wall. Governor Baker's Proclamation has gotten me one step closer to being able to keep that promise and fulfill that dream.

I've sent a press release to the local media outlets and newspapers, as well as local and national child safety organizations and pray that they, too, believe that this is a worthy and important child and home safety news story.  You can find the press release here. If you are in a position to share this information, please do.  I would love to see additional states issue Tip-Over Awareness Day proclamations and get us closer to ending injuries and deaths from tip-overs. That is the mission of Meghan's Hope.  

*** Updated 6/27/21***
​Do you think 20 years is enough time for the furniture industry and their intelligent design engineers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and a committee established in 1998 specifically dedicated to this purpose would be able to come up with an effective way to prevent furniture tip-overs from happening?

How about fifteen years?  It's been fifteen years since the first furniture tip-over legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.  I know because it bore the name of my daughter and that of another child killed by a furniture tip-over just one month after she was.  It was called the Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act and it was introduced to the U.S. House 5 months after my daughter died under her dresser.

What we didn't know then, was that seven (!) years earlier, an ASTM furniture safety standard committee was created to address the issue of furniture tip-over because the CPSC and the furniture industry knew then that this was a danger that lurked in every single home and that every single child was at risk of having a dresser or other piece of furniture fall on them, and potential of suffering serious injury or death as a result. 

Let that sink in. It is now 2020. The CPSC knew in the 1990's that furniture and TV tip-overs posed a danger to kids and now, more than 20 years later, and literally hundreds of thousands of injuries and more than 500 deaths later, they are still dragging their feet on creating an effective and mandatory furniture safety standard! Why?  Excellent question!  The only plausible answer has to do with politics and money being held in higher regard than the lives of children. How can I say that?  Because I'm now "in" the game, have learned how they play it, and am determined to change it. Starting with telling you how it's played out over the past 22 years.

The Players in this "game"
Many players in this fight to end tip-overs participate in the ASTM (an international standards organization) furniture safety sub-committee and include furniture manufacturers and retailers that sell furniture, labs that test furniture for safety, regulatory agencies like the CPSC and Health Canada, child safety organizations, and consumer advocacy organizations.  Members of the U.S. Congress get involved when legislation is introduced related to furniture tip-over prevention.

The most powerful players who have come on the scene in recent years are parent advocates like myself.  We are the loud squeaky wheels determined to catalyze not just change, but the right kind of changes, to truly make furniture safer by mandating testing parameters that will significantly reduce the risk of furniture tipping over and injuring or killing children. We won't let inadequate voluntary standards masquerade as effectively doing anything to stop tip-overs any longer. This blog is one way we do it.

In order to understand why this battle is still being fought more than 25 years after it was first identified as an issue, you need to understand the history of what has and has not happened as a result of the voluntary standard setting process.

What is the ASTM Furniture Safety Sub-Committee and what does it do?
The ASTM furniture safety sub-committee on tip-over prevention has been tasked with creating a voluntary (read optional) safety standard that would, if followed, require that manufacturers make dressers and other clothing storage units (CSUs) that are inherently stable when a child attempts to climb or otherwise interacts with it, significantly reducing the risk of it falling on the child and injuring or killing them. This standard includes specifications for testing CSU's that meet the criteria for the standard and if they fail the tests, they should not be sold. 

There is no legal enforcement of this standard, since it's only voluntary, and thus a suggestion, not a requirement. Let me be clear.  This means that no piece of furniture, and in particular furniture intended to store clothing like dressers, including those sold specifically for children's bedrooms, and sold in the United States, is required to be tested for safety.  None. Manufactures can choose to comply with some or part of the current voluntary standard, or not, without penalty. 

Chances are high you have non-compliant furniture in your home right now, and if it's not properly secured to the wall, it's a deadly weapon.

The CPSC can issue recalls if it identifies a product does not meet the standard and has caused, or has the potential to cause, injury and death, but their hands are somewhat tied by a clause in the Consumer Product Safety Act called 6(b), which you can read about in this report by Public Citizen "Delay and Secrecy". The CPSC can also write a mandatory standard right now, and could have done so years ago, and while they announced in 2017 the intent to do so in 2017 with an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking.  Now, 3 years later, they are moving at a snail's pace toward announcing their formal intent toward rulemaking for a mandatory standard, with no indication a rule (mandatory standard) will actually be issued in the next decade. We can't afford to wait for something that may never come from the CPSC.  We can't afford to wait 10 more years!

Let me also be clear that the current voluntary furniture safety standard is inadequate.  It does not account for drawers having anything in them (thus adding weight to the furniture), does not account for the forces on the furniture when a child attempts to climb or pull on or stand in drawers, and does not account for the impact of carpeting, all of which can affect the stability of the furniture and make it more likely to tip over and fall on a child. We know physics is what causes furniture to tip, and making furniture that can withstand these forces will protect children and significantly reduce injuries and deaths. 

Children, and even adults, are also injured or killed by other types of furniture every day, but since most incidents that involved children also involved dressers, wardrobes, and other furniture designed to store clothing and used in bedrooms, it was determined that would be the only type of furniture the standard would cover. 

There is no safety standard addressing the stability and safety of any other type of furniture, such as shelving units, bookcases, desks, entertainment furniture, tables, nightstands, or other furniture not intended to store clothing, nor does it address TV tip-overs or appliances of any kind.

What I've learned about this ASTM process and why you should care
I've been an active and voting member of the ASTM furniture safety safety standard committee as a consumer member and parent advocate for several years now, to be a voice for all the children who have been injured or lost their lives to tip-overs.  By all accounts, this committee has a history of being contentious and moves at a glacial pace with regard to meaningful and effective changes to the standard.

The full committee meets twice a year, typically at ASTM headquarters in West Conshohocken PA, and is attended by furniture manufacturers and their attorneys, the CPSC, consumer advocacy groups, testing labs, regulatory agencies, consumers who are primarily parent advocates like myself who lost a child to a furniture tip-over, and safety groups and organizations like Kids in Danger, Safe Kids, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the International Association for Child Safety. Anyone can join.  If you are interested, reach out to me or to ASTM.  There are also task groups that work on specific aspects of the standard such as test weight, development of a dynamic test involving more than one drawer open at a time, and tip-restraint testing. I participate in several of those as well and they meet via conference call primarily anywhere from once a year to several times a year. 

I've learned a tremendous amount in the nearly 16 years since Meggie died, but only because I asked questions, wrote letters, and did a ridiculous amount of research.  None of it was public knowledge, and really isn't now, either, though certainly a lot more people are aware of the danger than they were 16 years ago.  If it were not for the hard work and voices of consumer protection and advocacy groups and parent advocates who are willing to share their heartbreaking stories, and fight to have their voices heard by the people with the power to change the system, and dedicate years of their lives to the cause, YOU would never know it was a problem until it happened to you.  We owe them all a debt of gratitude for paving the way and guiding us to use our voices effectively.

As I prepare for yet another ASTM meeting that is likely to involve a lot of passing of the buck, circular arguments over semantics, stalling, and claims that they are waiting for someone else to do the testing and get the ever elusive data they can't seem to get (because they aren't really asking for it or trying to get it themselves) I feel the urge to write this blog. With COVID on the scene, it's a convenient excuse for the committee to have done next to nothing since the last big meeting a year ago. 

I am compelled to educate you about this process as an argument as to why we need the STURDY Act and why we need it now.  I feel a strong need to give a little history lesson of the history of the standard for those in a position to make a decision that could save the life of your child. Right now, this responsibility lies with the U.S. Senate and the Republicans on the committee of commerce, science and consumer protection who as of right now, have refused to support this bill. 

This history lesson will draw parallels with the ASTM furniture safety standard (which is voluntary) and legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate which would require a more robust and mandatory standard.  I do think you will find it rather interesting.

The Beginning - the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Identifies Tip-Overs as an emerging and increasing hazard to children

It's unclear exactly when the CPSC first identified furniture and TV tip-overs as a danger to children but it appears to have been in the mid 1990's, long before there was social media or a robust internet to disseminate information, although honestly, that hasn't done enough to "fix" the problem either.  The CPSC issued safety alerts saying that furniture and TV's could tip over and injure or kill children in the 1990's, because they had gotten enough reports of those injuries and deaths to feel the alert was warranted. The problem was no one saw them, or at least, no one who could alert parents to the danger so they could take action to prevent it.

At that time, it was estimated three were around 8-10,000 ER visits due to furniture and TV tip-overs each year and approximately 6 children died every year.  For the record, those numbers have DOUBLED, in part due to improved reporting and data collection, but I can tell you without a doubt the number of tip-overs that actually happen every year are easily much higher, as the statistics ONLY count those that resulted in ER visits with injuries or deaths AND that were documented to be a result of a tip-over AND are only estimates!  So many incidents are not captured in the CPSC's data and they all could have resulted in an injury or death!  

Despite this safety alert being issued, it was not something that made it's way to parents, pediatricians, or retailers, so it's no surprise injuries and deaths continued to happen and those with the power to educate (the CPSC and the furniture industry) decided instead to create a voluntary safety standard to try to get manufacturers to make safer and more stable furniture.  Which is great in theory, but it missed the target audience and parents paid for it by having to bury their children from a preventable accident both the CPSC and the industry knew about!  It also underestimated how inadequate this voluntary standard process would be at actually preventing these injuries and deaths.

The more I learn about what was known, when, and by whom, and how long this process has taken and STILL the numbers of people, mostly children, injured and killed by tip-overs is not significantly different than it was 10 years ago, let alone 5 years ago, the more angry I become. The number of injuries and deaths is known to be much higher than when this hazard was first identified!  I blame both the CPSC and the ASTM for literally having the blood of these children on their hands for needlessly dragging your feet and not taking the robust and meaningful action you are tasked with and doing so in a timely manner.  Shame on you!  When you know better, you should do better, and by better, I mean for the safety of consumers and particularly children, not what's better for your pocketbook or political reputation and standing! 

The CPSC now issues an annual Tip-Over report, first issued in 2008, and issued every year since 2010, usually in November every year.  You can read the most recent CPSC Tip-over Report here. The 2020 report has not yet been released, but they clearly feel this is an important enough issue to gather data on it every year, yet not important enough to use every tool at their disposal to write a mandatory standard, which they can do and should have done years ago. 

Rulemaking at the CPSC is a process that takes years and the ball is rolling oh so slowly right now with the issuance of an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announced in 2017, and testing that is taking place, but no clear indication of when the actual Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be issued (perhaps in 2021?) and how many years it will take to write the mandatory rule, of if it will even happen, since all five Commissioners would need to agree to set partisanship aside and do the right thing for the children of this country, and we don't know what the political make up of the CPSC Commissioners will be when this mandatory rule writing is begun, or if the support for it will still be there.  We cannot rely on the CPSC to write an effective mandatory standard without there being a law directing them to do so.  That law would be the STURDY Act.

The Correlation between the ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety Standard and Tip-Over prevention legislation introduced to the U.S. House and Senate

The Evolution of the ASTM Furniture Safety committee
In 1998, the furniture safety sub-committee was born at ASTM.  This committee was tasked with creating a voluntary safety standard to address furniture tip-over injuries and deaths, and to find ways to reduce those incidents through testing and improvements to design and safety of furniture manufacturing. It's unclear who made up the committee at this point, but I presume it was a small number of manufacturers and maybe a testing lab and a consumer group.  Certainly much smaller than it is today.

PS 110-98 was issued in 1998 - it was a provisional safety specification which had the first 3 bullet points of the 2000 specification below, and was withdrawn then the first official specification was issued in 2000. 

F2057 - In 2000, the ASTM issued it's first safety specification for F2057 (its official standard #) .  At that time the standard cited statistics from 1994 only (!) only that there were an estimated 8100 ER visits associated with furniture that year and approximately 6 deaths each year, 2/3 of which involved dressers or other furniture with drawers, and that approximately 80% of those injured or killed were under the age of 5. The standard included the following parameters:

• It covered "chests, drawer chests, chests of drawers, dressers and bureaus only"
• It did NOT cover any items lower than 30" tall
• It only covered children up to and including age 5
• It required that an empty unit should not tip over when placed on a flat level surface and that with all doors and drawers open as far as the glides allowed. 
• It also required that when on a flat surface one drawer at a time should be opened and a test weight of 50 lb (25# on each side of the door or drawer) is applied, that the unit remain standing.

spoiler alert - the only meaningful change to this standard since the first one in 2000 is that is now covers CSU's 27 inches and taller and includes a warning label and tip restraint (which is not tested to see if it actually holds the weight of the furniture adequately)

F2057-04 - The ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety Standard was revised for the first time in 2004 
The only change was to add that each weight used to test had to be individually wrapped in 2-4mil thick polyethylene film and sealed to reduce contamination!!

The Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act Introduced in 2005
In April of 2005, just 4 months after Meghan died and 3 months after Katie died, HR 1861 was introduced in the U.S. House. We were unaware that the ASTM Furniture Safety committee existed at this time!

The bill required that the CPSC issue a mandatory standard to protect consumers from the dangers of unsecured furniture and electronic appliances (TV's) to reduce the incidence of injury and death.  It asked that this standard include testing in both loaded and unloaded conditions and the inclusion of anchors to secure furniture to the wall along with mandatory warning labels. It had bipartisan support and 45 co-sponsors and yet, it sat in committee and never made it to a floor vote, and expired at the end of 2007 when that session of Congress ended. However it did apparently get the attention of the ASTM furniture safety committee because several years later the warning labels and restraints were added to the voluntary standard. 

A bill by the same name was re-introduced in the next Congress in 2008 as HR 4266 and again had bipartisan support, this time with 11 cosponsors, and again, died on the floor of the committee of energy and commerce. Honestly, I'm glad it did, because it had been watered down and was not the mandatory standard we were seeking. This bill had an addition to it for glass tables which was not part of the original bill nor applicable to the standard we were seeking.  It also made mention of the ASTM voluntary standard committee and asked that anchors withstand a force of 100 lb if the test weight was 50 lb. This recommendation has not yet been incorporated into the voluntary standard.

F2057-09 -The ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety standard revision #2 in 2009
NINE years after it's first specification the standard was finally revised.  This revision included the following changes including two significant ones that were asked for in the first Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act, that tip-over restraints were included and a warning label to the consumer about the risk of tip-over was required. It's likely these changes were added because of the legislation that was introduced and the support it had, even though it never became law. So in this case legislation informed improvements to the standard.

• a definition of inch-pound units as being the standard
• a definition of operational sliding length 
• That tip-over restraints shall be included for attachment by the consumer to help prevent tip-over and that restraint must withstand a pull force of 50 lb.  Installation instructions must be included
• A warning label must be attached to the unit in a conspicuous location such as the inside of a drawer or door. colors, wording, and font were specified for the warning label
• additional pictures were added to support the language around testing procedures with the 50 lb total weight. 

F2057-09a - A second revision in 2009

• Added that the warning label had to be permanent

F2097-09b A third revision in 2009

• Added a line to the warning label that stated "unless specifically designed to accommodate do not set TV's or other heavy objects on top of this product"

F2097-14 - The ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety standard revision #3 in 2014
This revision only included one meaningful change, and that was the reference to a newly created tip-over restraint specification for the restraints to be included with the furniture by the manufacturers who chose to comply with the voluntary standard.  Beyond that the changes were language clarifications that more clearly defined testing parameters.

• The definition of what type of furniture the standard does NOT cover was expanded
• It referenced F3096, the newly created standard for tip-over restrains used with clothing storage units.
• It defined clothing storage unit as "furniture intended for the storage of clothing typical of bedroom furniture"
• A change to the testing of units with doors was changed to "open one door to 90 degrees, all other doors and drawers shall be closed..."
• Clarification of how far drawers should be opened was included "to the outstop... or... to 2/3 of operational sliding length"

F3096 - Standard Performance Specification for tip-over restraints used with clothing storage units created in 2014​
This standard is a companion standard created as a reference document for F2097-14, when they added the inclusion of a tip-restraint to the voluntary standard. It only applies to the tip-restraints included by the manufacturer with the clothing storage unit.  It does not specify what kind of restraint should be included, just that it can withstand a gentle application of 50 lbs for 30 seconds.  It is a bare bones standard and the key parameters were:

• To define the test method and requirements for tip over restraints as required by F2097
• Was to assess the strength of the restraint only, NOT the "real world" performance of the restraint in actually stopping a tip-over once installed
• The test method was described and included
  • assembling the components according to manufacturer instructions
  • secure one end of the restraint to a fixed and rigid structure by gripping it in your hand or attaching it to a wooden block or other fixed structure
  • Attach a loading device to the other end of the restraint fastener
  • Gradually "over a period of not less than 2 seconds nor greater than 15 seconds, apply the static load of 50 lbs and maintain it for an additional 30 seconds"
  • Details of installation instructions are to include drawings of installation method and detailed written step by step instructions, a parts list with pictures of each part, and clear installation instructions
  • The only labeling requirements were the manufacturer's name and address and date of manufacture including at least month and year.  

This standard is currently in the process of being revised to include a dynamic real world test to determine if the included restraint can actually prevent a tip-over, and to determine which restraints are the most effective. I am part of that task group. It's likely to be at least a year or more before it is meaningfully revised due to the limitations on testing capability due to COVID-19.

The STURDY Act - HR 5442 (2016)  Stop Tip-overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth
The first version of the STURDY Act was introduced to the U.S House of Representatives in June of 2016, which was late in that session of Congress.  It had general recommendations regarding a mandatory standard and it had no co-sponsors and died in committee.  It was a warning that more robust legislation proposal was coming and that this issue was not resolved. It's unlikely the industry took the warning seriously. 

F 2097-17 The ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety Standard Revision # 4 in 2017
This standard update was a minor one that was primarily language clarification with regard to:

• The permanency of the warning label
• The addition of a symbol of a child climbing a dresser with a red circle around it and a line through it to visually demonstrate children should not climb on furniture.
• It also included the standard #'s of referenced documents
• A statement saying the standard was developed based on recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee

The STURDY Act - HR 2211 (2019 House version) Stop Tip-overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth 
This version of the STURDY act was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on April 10th, 2019. It had 23 bipartisan co-sponsors. In September of 2019 it passed the house with bipartisan support and was passed to the Senate.  

The STURDY Act S1902 (2019 Senate Version)
This is 2019 version of the STURDY Act, passed from the House to the U.S. Senate in September of 2019.  It was  in the Committee of Commerce, Science, and Transportation and because of the bitter partisan politics currently at play, was never taken up by the committee. Despite the fact it had 14 bipartisan co-sponsors, Mitch Mcconnell's partisan game playing resulted in it dying in the Senate at the end of December, when the session of Congress came to a close.

The STURDY Act would require the CPSC to issue a mandatory furniture safety standard for clothing storage units within one year of it's passage into law and would require the following:

• Mandate testing on all clothing storage units regardless of height
• Require testing to simulate the weight of a child up to 72 months old
• Require testing that accounts for scenarios involving carpeted floors, loaded drawers, and the dynamic forces of a climbing child, all of which contribute to the physics of a tip-over in the real world
• Mandate strong warning requirements

F2057 -19  The ASTM Voluntary Furniture Safety Standard Revision # 5 in 2019
With the STURDY Act clearly having traction in Congress and the CPSC moving toward an NPR and conducting their own testing, this revision of the standard was the most significant and functionally meaningful one since 2009!  Yes, the first significant change in TEN years.

Two major changes were balloted but only one passed, and it was not easy to make it happen. The fact one of my fellow parent advocates' son was killed by a 27 inch tall dresser and she is also part of this committee is likely what catalyzed the reluctant passage of that ballot measure by the industry, as they could no longer hide behind the "we have no data that indicates we need to change..." 

The changes to the standard included:

• The standard was changed to cover all clothing storage units 27 inches in height or higher (a lowering of the height from 30 inches, which had been the standard since it's inception)
• The types of furniture NOT covered by the standard was updated to include specifically occasional and accent furniture not intended for bedroom use, laundry units, nightstands or clothing storage tests covered by F2598.  (note: Nightstands are the most contentious type of furniture discussed at these meetings because if nightstands are excluded, manufacturers could call a small dresser a "nightstand" and avoid having to comply with the standard.)
• An expansion of the referenced documents
• A definition of a nightstand
• Specific language around warning labels in terms of color, font used, and the location of the permanent warning label as well as the terminology to be used on the warning labels such as "ALWAYS" and "NEVER" and specific warnings "Children have died from furniture tip-over" to make it clear to the user tip-overs can kill children. These were changes to make the existing warning label requirements more clear.

The ballot measure that did not pass was increasing the test weight from 50 pounds to 60 pounds to more accurately represent a the 95th percentile of what a 72 month old child weighs.  There has been a 20 year argument about how old a 5-year old is and are we calling them 5 the day they turn 5 or the day before they turn 6?  The industry has dug in their heels and does not want to increase the testing weight and their argument is that the definition of a five year old is a child the day they turn 5.  The real reason of course, is that with a 60 lb test weight, there is a greater chance their furniture will fail the test and therefore not comply with the voluntary standard.  

The STURDY Act, H.R. 1314 (2021 House version)
On February 24, 2021, The STURDY Act, HR 1314 was introduced to the 117th Congress by Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky of IL and had 22 co-sponsors. Her press release is here. It was the exact same text as the 2019 version.  It passed the House on June 23rd, 2021 en bloc (with a few other bills grouped with it) with a roll call vote of 325 to 103.  Not surprisingly, all 103 no votes were cowardly Republicans. The beauty of a roll call vote is we now know exactly which ones clearly don't care about child safety and certainly don't care if your children die from a tip-over.

Here's why they should care.  Take a minute to watch this brief video from Parents Against Tip-Overs: Why we need the STURDY Act Now

The STURDY Act S 441 (2021 Senate Version) - WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

On February 25th, 2021, Senator Robert Casey of PA introduced bill S 441,the STURDY Act to the 117th Congress with the same text that was in the 2019 version. His press release is here. It currently has 16 co-sponsors including two Republicans. The House referred the passed HR 1314 to the Senate committee of Commerce, Science, and Transportation, as is customary, despite the fact here is already a version of STURDY in the Senate.  

So, here we are again.  As I write this on June 27th, 2021, we are faced with trying to generate Republican support, get this bill to a mark-up, and then to pass the Senate floor and on to President Biden's desk for signature. Just daring to imagine what that day would be like brings me to my knees with bittersweet tears...

There is much work to be done and we need your help!  HERE's HOW TO HELP! The easiest thing you can do is go here and take literally one minute to complete the quick demographic form and it will automatically send a letter to YOUR Senator, asking them to support The STURDY Act. Please share it with your friends and family on social media and ask them to do the same. If you want to take it one step further, give your Senator's offices a call and also ask them via phone or email to support the STURDY Act and tell them why it's important to you! 

So what's the problem?
You mean aside from the fact it's been 22 years and very little meaningful change has been made, as evidenced by the fact hundreds of children have died, there are still tens of thousands of injuries every year, someone is rushed to the ER every 45 minutes because of a furniture tip-over, and a child still dies about every two weeks?  Is that not enough? 

I do want to say that most of the members who actively participate in the the ASTM furniture safety sub-committee and task groups are the ones who ARE complying with the voluntary standard and are at least somewhat invested in making furniture safer for kids.  BUT they are also looking out for their bottom line and they know all of the requirements we are asking for in the STURDY Act are necessary and appropriate, but the stalling and arguing that goes on in meeting after meeting means it will likely be another ten years before even one of them might be incorporated into the voluntary standard.  That translates into tens of thousands of more children being injured and likely a hundred or more dying, all why they put millions into their profits.

We don't have that kind of time.  It is clear that everyone in the industry is biding their time and waiting for the CPSC to complete their testing, even though the manufacturers could be doing their own testing concurrently, and maybe they quietly are, but if so, are not sharing that with the full committee.  It is likely everyone is also waiting for the CPSC to announce a notice of proposed  rulemaking, but such an announcement is no guarantee a mandatory standard will ever actually be written or what it may or may not include.  Sure, COVID set them back a bit with not being able to be in the lab for several months, but that excuse is no longer valid. 

It is also clear the players are waiting to see what happens with the STURDY Act, because if it passes, then they see it as the CPSC's problem as they'd be required to write the mandatory standard.  This is illustrative of the basic problem with this entire process.  Everyone is waiting for someone else to do their job and as a result very little meaningful change is made.  That needs to change and the best, and quite possibly only way it can change is with the passage of the STURDY Act into law.

But the Furniture Industry says they are in favor of mandatory standard, so what's the big deal?
I also want to make it clear that you may hear that some of the furniture industry is in support of a mandatory standard BUT they want the current, inadequate, voluntary standard to be made mandatory.  Aside from the fact the current voluntary standard is obviously not effective (just look at the data on injuries and deaths!), the reason I do not support this is because it's much more difficult to change a mandatory standard than it is a voluntary one, and now you know how much time it takes to change a voluntary standard!  

With the re-introduction of the STURDY Act into the House and Senate this year, (2021) the AHFA (the furniture industry's membership organization with a LOT of money put towards lobbying against STURDY), has become more outspoken and organized against the STURDY Act. They are doing so because they are afraid it will become law and force them to do what they have been avoiding through all their stalling tactics in the ASTM committee meetings for years. I will be writing a separate blog post to address this issue, specifically calling them out as many of their members are talking out of both sides of their mouths and trying to buy their way to killing the STURDY Act by donating millions to Republican's to encourage them to vote against it.

The longer it takes to get a comprehensive, robust, and effective mandatory standard enacted that includes the key testing and safety parameters outlined in the STURDY Act, the more people, most of them children, will continue to be injured and killed by something that could have literally been prevented years ago!  We need those testing parameters to be law to ensure the safety of our children and to stop tip-overs from happening! This is why the STURDY Act is so important and why we need the U.S. Senate to move it to the President's desk for signature immediately.  Not doing so tells your constituents that you don't care about the safety of their children.  I sure as hell hope that's not true.  Actions speak louder than words. Now's the time.  Act responsibly.  Do what is right for your most vulnerable constituents, PASS STURDY NOW!  

​

. 

with Why the consumer's voice is important
Every year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission must hold a budget and priorities hearing.  This is a public hearing that gives interested parties an opportunity to provide oral testimony regarding the Commission's budget and priorities for the next fiscal year. This is important, because it gives advocacy groups and ordinary citizens an opportunity to educate the Commission on what they should consider the top consumer safety issues to focus on and why.  Anyone can also submit written testimony of any length prior to the hearing.  The deadlines and details of each year's hearing are published in the Federal Register. 

Normally, this hearing is held in April at CPSC headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is video recorded. This year, because of the global Pandemic, the hearing was postponed to May 27th and was held via audio-conference. This is obviously less than ideal for a number of reasons.  There is tremendous value in being able to see each other and a video call would have been better than audio only.  So much is lost in oral testimony when you cannot make eye contact and read/use body language while you present. I was disappointed the remote testimony did not include video.

It's also unclear if it was recorded or if a recording or transcript of this year's hearing will be released. My testimony is below if you wish to skip right to it.  I do hope you take a few minutes to read it. It's an opportunity to see my advocacy at work with the Government agency tasked with keeping consumers safe from product hazards and holding companies accountable for making safe products, and by recalling those that are not safe when the potential for or actual injuries and deaths have been reported. 

​How the hearing works
Those who wished to provide oral testimony had to register in advance.  While anyone can provide testimony, it is typically advocacy groups, parent advocates, and the American Academy of Pediatrics who do. Typically the hazards the Commission is asked to address revolve around products posing a significant hazard of injury or death to children.

The Chair gives opening remarks and then the first panel is "seated".  The panels typically have 4-5 panelists, each of whom normally would have 10 minutes to present.  I would normally bring a photo of Meghan and her dresser to place on the table while I gave my testimony, and obviously, I couldn't use that added impact this year.  This year, we only had a strict 5 minutes (timed) to present our testimony. Five minutes is not a lot of time, especially for groups who are asking for multiple priorities to be considered, so a focused, articulate, compelling argument needs to be practiced to be effective in the time allowed.  Most panelists also submit a much longer written testimony which provides more detail and explanation to support their argument and requests, but there is also a deadline for this and it is due prior to the hearing date.

After each panel presents, each Commissioner is given 5 minutes to ask follow up questions to any of the panelists. Some ask a question to specific panelists and others ask more general questions.  Some simply say thank you or use the time share their personal opinion on the issues presented, rather than ask any questions. Once the Commissioner questions are finished, the next panel is seated and the process repeats. 

Once the panels are completed, the Chair offers closing remarks and the hearing is ended. 

This year, because of the shortened time panelists were allowed, and because the hearing was audio only, panelists were given an additional 2 weeks to submit additional testimony, answer Commissioner questions there was not time to adequately do during the hearing, and for the Commissioners to ask the panelists additional questions if they desired.  

My testimony
I've been advocating for furniture safety for 15 years now, and working with the CPSC on their Anchor It! campaign since 2015.  I've met personally with all of the current Commissioners several times, and they know me and my story well.  They are also very familiar with the data and my frustrations as well as those shared by my Parents Against Tip-Overs colleagues, so I took a different approach this year.  One designed to call them out and to action, with a bit of praise, a bit of scolding, and punctuated with emotion.  Reading the words is not nearly as powerful as how you say them, so listening to them packs more punch than reading them, but for those of you who have heard me present before, I'm sure you can "hear" it as you read.  

Spoken Testimony
CPSC FY 2021-2022 Agenda and Priorities Hearing
May 27, 2020
 
Good Afternoon. My name is Kimberly Amato, and I am the founder of Meghan’s Hope.

Fifteen years ago, on December 18th, 2004, I woke to my husband frantically screaming my name. Our beautiful, 3-year old, twin daughter Meghan, was found lifeless beneath her dresser.  

I’ve been fighting literally since the day she died, to educate others about the dangers of furniture tip-overs and advocating for a mandatory furniture safety standard. I’ve been actively engaged with Congress, ASTM, and the CPSC since just a few months after her death, and quite frankly, I am beyond frustrated that this issue has STILL not been adequately addressed by these entities, and children continue to be injured and killed by furniture tip-overs. Every. Single. Day.

Today, I thank the Commission for its dedication to furniture safety and ask that you continue to make it a top priority by:

1. Aggressively pursuing rule-making for a robust, effective, and comprehensive mandatory furniture safety standard. 
 
I beg of you to issue an NPR and make it an urgent priority. It’s been 3 years since the ANPR was issued. The STURDY Act, the ASTM voluntary standards process, and progress on an NPR can, and should, all happen concurrently. We cannot wait any longer for “someone else” to create a comprehensive mandatory standard.  ASTM has already had 20 years. The time is now. The job, is yours.
 
2. Continue to improve and promote the Anchor It! Campaign in both its scope and its reach. The tone of the campaign needs to be a serious one, and use real-life stories and images to engage parents, for we know that is what has the greatest impact. 

3. Increase the scope, reach, and public awareness of saferproducts.gov in order to get more accurate and timely data, and by expanding who is required to report product hazards, injuries and deaths beyond the NEISS hospital system.

4. The Commission needs to issue timely warnings and safety alerts, and use its full authority, and every tool at its disposal, to recall furniture that is not compliant with the current standard, issue unilateral recalls if necessary, and impose civil penalties where appropriate, to get dangerous furniture off the market, and adequately inform the American public about a hazard or recall, so they know what to do to protect their family.  

The issue of furniture tip-over remains a clear and present danger to the citizens of the U.S., especially the most vulnerable, our children and elders.  It is a hazard that exists in every single household, as well as in schools, day cares, nursing homes and assisted livings, hotels, church halls, classrooms, retail stores, and other public spaces, making the anchoring campaign a vital component of tip-over prevention.
 
The agency also desperately needs to improve their avenues of communication and reach to the American public. Recall information and safety campaigns don’t save lives if parents and the public don’t know about them.
 
If these processes and standards were in place fifteen years ago, I’d still have my beautiful Meggie, and hundreds of thousands injuries and deaths due to furniture tip-overs could have been prevented.
 
You are the consumer Product Safety Commission.  Priority #1 is to educate and protect consumers, no matter who the Chair is, and no matter what the political makeup of the commission is.  I assure you, furniture falls equally on Democratic and Republican children. This is not a partisan issue.  It is not about protecting industry interests. That’s not your job. It is purely an issue of safety, and consumer safety is your mandate.
 
Meghan’s twin brother is graduating from high school next week. She should be right there next to him.  Instead, I see one where two should have always been. Those twin milestones were all stolen from me the day she died, along with the innocence of my boys, and the joy of Christmas, by a small, heavy, expensive dresser, made for a nursery, that I thought was safe. 
 
I promised her she’d be the last to die this way.  She was not. More than 250 children have died since.  All while your agency, Congress, ASTM, and the furniture industry fought for their own interests over the lives of our children - and waited for someone else to do the work and create the solution to end tip-overs.
 
When Meghan wanted to get your attention, she’d climb into your lap, take your face in her tiny little hands, making you look right at her, and say, “You listen to Meggie!” 
 
Close your eyes and picture her in your lap right now.  Her tiny hands on YOUR face.  Imagine looking at her beautiful face and hearing her plea.
 
I beg of you, Commissioners Adler, Biacco, Feldman, and Kaye, Please, listen to Meggie!  
 
Thank you
 
 

I'm so glad you are here because it means you are most likely looking for the best way to secure your furniture and TV's to the wall to prevent your child from being injured or killed the way my Meggie was; by a fallen piece of furniture. If you have spent a little time reading this Website or at the Meghan's Hope Facebook page, you already know Meggie's story.  If you don't, please take some time to read it on the home page.   

This blog will explain what needs to be anchored, why, as well as how to choose a furniture or TV anchor and how to install it.  Everything you need to know is written here, complete with clickable links to quickly find the resources you need!  So let's #AnchorIt!

Why do I need to secure my furniture?  Do I really need to secure all it?
We know tip-overs happen about every 24 minutes, that's about 60 times a day.  About every 43 minutes a child is injured seriously enough to be taken to the ER due to a tip-over incident, some with life-changing and debilitating injuries they may never fully recover from. That's approximately 33 children every single day.  About every 12 days, a child dies from a tip-over.  That's a minimum of 30 children a year.  Every single one of them could have been prevented if the furniture or TV that fell on them was secured to the wall. 

The reality is that ALL of your furniture needs to be secured to the wall, because you cannot tell by looking at a piece of furniture (or a TV) whether or not it could tip-over.  It does not matter how short or tall it is, how heavy or light it is, who made it, where you bought it, how long you've had it, or how safe you think it is, The only way to prevent a tip-over is to properly secure all of your furniture and TV's to the wall.  It is a dangerous misconception that only light and inexpensive dressers are the only furniture at risk.  Children (and adults) have been killed by dressers, wardrobes, bookcases/shelving units, TV stands/entertainment units, and other pieces of furniture outside of the bedroom.  Meghan weighed 28 pounds, her dresser more than 150.  It took 2 adults to move it.  We never thought it could tip-over, yet it did, and it killed my Meggie. When you know better, you do better.  Thanks to Meggie, you know better.  

But I have a flat screen TV now, do I really need to anchor it?  It's so light!
The number of deaths and injuries due to TV's has decreased as people have gotten rid of the old tube style TV's and replaced them with flat screens, but they still happen.  It's important to realize that even flat screen televisions can still cause serious injury or death if they fall.  Think of the weight of your furniture and TV's in terms of bowling balls.  A 20 pound TV is the equivalent of 2 bowling balls falling on your child's head or chest.  That is enough to break bones and cause a deadly head or chest injury. That visual should help you understand why it doesn't take something heavy to cause a catastrophic injury. 

So what causes a tip-over? Isn't it just IKEA or cheap furniture and dressers I have to worry about?
Furniture and TV's tip-over because of physics, and while children are the most frequently injured and killed, adults are also injured and killed every year due to a tip-over!   It is absolutely not just dressers or inexpensive/IKEA furniture that is at risk.  ALL furniture has the potential tip-over onto your child if it's not anchored to the wall.  
Your child can interact with a piece of furniture or TV 100 times. 99 of those times, nothing may happen, but one of those times, just the right circumstances will occur that will cause that piece of furniture to fall on them. You don't know if that time will be the first, the 5th, or the 100th.  Don't take the chance!  $5 and 15 minutes would have saved Meghan's life if I understood the dangers. Take the time, spend the money, and secure your furniture today! 
​
Please visit the following Web sites to learn more about why anchoring furniture and TVs it is so important.  Especially if you don’t think it’s necessary to anchor more than just your child's dresser! 

• CPSC's Anchor it Website (important statistics and resources) 
• How it happens, video from the CPSC: 
• Meghan's story from the CPSC
• Real moms urge you to anchor it
• A compelling story from a parent
• Consumer Reports tip-over research and reports
• Netflix documentary BROKEN: Deadly Dressers
  • My review of the documentary and "inside" information
• My safety blog 

What do I use to anchor my furniture?  How do I choose the right and safest anchor? 
It's important to realize that furniture anchors are not all created equal, and many are not tested to see how much weight they can actually hold, so they can give a potentially false sense of security. 

It's also important to realize there is no mandatory standard for testing of furniture anchors, so a "test" could simply be an adult pulling on a strap once to see if it holds. That does not actually simulate the forces of a child climbing, pulling, or otherwise interacting with a dresser multiple times every day over the course of years.  And one company's "test" is not the same as another's, if they test it at all.  

There are also a lot of "copycat" anchors out there that look like name brand anchors, primarily sold online, and they are less expensive and often made with inferior materials and thus, more likely to fail. I recommend you avoid those.  Hint, if they are not listed below, or made by one of the companies listed below, they are quite possibly inferior products and not recommended. 

It's very important to realize that the anchors must hold not only the weight of the furniture, but also what's in/on top of it, plus at least an additional 60 lbs (to simulate the weight of a 6yr old climbing on it), so you often need more than one anchor or multiple sets of anchors (if they come 2 to a package for example) to secure one piece of furniture, depending on how much weight the anchor can hold.  It's best to overestimate!

Professional childproofers strongly recommend anchors that have no plastic parts that can become brittle or break, and anchors that have been lab tested for weight capacity if possible. This can be a simple and inexpensive "L" bracket, any steel cable style anchor, or a heavy duty furniture strap with metal attachments for the wall and furniture side. These are included in my resource list here. 

Devices that can be used to secure furniture safely:

L-Brackets 
They can be found at any hardware store, come in different lengths and widths depending on your needs.  Inexpensive and effective.  Need appropriate sized and length screws as well. Not sure what you need?  Just ask an employee at the local hardware store!

Safety First Furniture Wall Straps

Safety First Furniture and TV Combination Straps (either furniture, or TV, or both)

KidCo Anti-Tip furniture Straps

Quakehold furniture straps option 1 and Option 2

Hangman Anti-Tip kit (up to 400lb) and how to install
 
Quakehold Heavy Duty Steel Furniture Cable

Safety Innovations Furniture and TV Straps (hold 150-200lb per manufacturer) 

Additional Important Information:

• All anti-tip devices must be secured into a stud in the wall and into SOLID WOOD, not into the flimsy press board backings of some furniture.  If you do not have wood studs, inquire at your hardware store or with a professional childproofer as to what type of bolts or fasteners and style of drill bit you need to use for brick, concrete, horsehair walls, or other non-traditional material.
• Not all devices work for all pieces of furniture or in all locations where that furniture might be in a room.  You need to choose carefully and appropriately.  
• Even if secured, you must periodically check the straps to be sure they are still secure and not pulling out of the furniture, TV, or wall-  plastic parts especially can become brittle or break over time or with repeated forces being applied to them, causing them to fail. This is why I recommend choosing anchors with no plastic parts if possible.
• You may need to rearrange furniture to make it safe and attach it to the wall safely.  Visible anchoring devices or furniture in a different place than you would prefer it are a small price to pay for your child's safety. 
• You may need to remove furniture that cannot be safely secured or gate off or restrict access to rooms where furniture and TV's are not safely secured. 
• Don't forget to secure appliances, filing cabinets, and other non-traditional furniture that poses a tip-over hazard.
• Don't forget to check if furniture and TV's are anchored at the homes your child visits, including in home and institutional day care centers.

 IMPORTANT:  Even if your furniture comes with a restraining device, it may not be sufficient to hold the weight of the furniture!  I strongly recommend you use a store bought restraining device instead of or in addition to any anchor that comes with furniture.  Anchors sold with furniture are not currently required to be tested for safety and there is no guarantee they will safety hold the furniture to the wall
·         
 Note:  I do not recommend the use of cable ties or Mommy’s Helper Furniture Straps as they are plastic cable ties and will likely not bear the weight of most fully loaded pieces of storage furniture and the plastic cables often become brittle and break easily after a short time and feel they give the user a false sense of security.  I have personally had this specific furniture strap fail (the cable tie snapped) after only a few months of use. 

TELEVISIONS: Devices to secure TV’s to the wall: 

The safest way to secure a TV is to purchase a flat panel TV and mount it directly to the wall.  If you cannot do that, please use one of the devices below.  Even large rear projection and other big, heavy TV’s do pose a danger and should be secured if you cannot replace it with a flatscreen.  If you dispose of a tube TV, remove it from your home and cut the cord so it cannot be used unsafely elsewhere and recycle it properly.  Some electronic stores will take them back for recycling!

Safety first furniture and TV Strap

Hangman Anti-tip Flatscreen TV Strap and how to install video

​Quakehold Straps Big Screen and Appliance Strap

KidCo Anti-Tip Television Strap (for flat screen TV’s)

HOW DO I PROPERLY SECURE FURNITURE TO THE WALL?
You can find many how-to videos on YouTube, but these are two I recommend.  

CPSC How to anchor it video for anchoring furniture

Consumer Reports Video on how to secure furniture to the wall

But I don't have the right tools or I'm afraid I can't do it right.  What can I do?
If you don't have the right tools (drill, stud finder, measuring tape), are unsure how to use them, are worried you'll do it wrong, or if you have a spouse or parent who isn't willing to do it for you, don't worry!  There are other options!  

• Ask a handy friend, neighbor, or family member to help you!  Either to borrow the tools, show you how to use them, or help you do it.  Even if your spouse or parent is against it, they won't undo it once it's done!  You need to do what's best to protect your child.
• Get together with a group of friends.  Buy them pizza and have them over for an "anchoring" or childproofing party!  Then next weekend, you return the favor for them!  This is a great idea for expecting or new parents, or anyone who has friends/family who also want to secure their furniture/TV"s and childproof! 
• You can hire a handy man or professional childproofer to help you.  You can find professional childproofers in your area at the International Association for Child Safety

Where to buy anti-tip devices?
You may find some of the products at some 'big box' department and home improvement stores (or their Web sites), stores that sell other childproofing supplies, and online at Amazon.com or sites that sell safety devices for the home. Not all stores carry them, but many do have them on their websites.  If they don’t carry them, educate them and encourage them to stock them!  Amazon.com carries all the brands recommended here.

If you still have questions, you can message me at info@meghanshope.org
​

A call to action 
Ok my village.  The time is now!  I need each and every one of you to help us get the STURDY Act through the U.S. Senate. I can't do it without your help and I need a LOT of help!

This bill is the fastest and most likely way to ensure that a mandatory and effective furniture safety and stability standard is created and enforced. This is an urgent appeal, as time is of the essence and we only have a few months to make this happen, which means we need to mobilize and use our collective voices now!  Are you in?

What is the STURDY Act and why do you want me to contact my senator about it?
This blog will tell you what the STURDY Act is, why this is so important, why I need your help, and how easy it is to do provide that help! I've made it as quick and easy as possible! I'll even tell you how to find out who your Senators are, how to reach them, and what to say and write if you aren't sure how to do any of those things.

I promise, it will be easy and take very little time for you to help me keep my promise to Meggie to #stoptipovers!

What is the STURDY Act?
The STURDY Act stands for Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth.  It requires that the CPSC issue a mandatory rule (furniture safety standard) within one year of it's enactment that would mandate:

• Testing on all clothing storage units, regardless of height
• Require that testing to simulate the weight of a child 72 months of age
• Require testing that accounts for the way children interact with furniture in the real world.  Testing that would include loaded drawers, multiple open drawers, accounting for the impact of carpeting on stability, and simulating the dynamic forces a climbing child would cause
• Mandate strong warning requirements and labels

Why do we need it to become law?

• Because the current voluntary furniture safety standard is not stringent enough. 
• The voluntary standard means it's optional to follow the voluntary safety standards, manufacturers do not have to comply with it, and many don't. 
• Until ALL manufacturers must follow the same safety standards by law, and there are repercussions (legal and financial) for not complying, it won't happen.  
• The furniture industry as a whole (not all manufacturers, but many), is resistant to making these changes to the voluntary standard.  Why?
  • It's been 19 years and it hasn't happened yet.  If they wanted to, it could have been achieved years ago
  • They are afraid it will cost them money and reduce profit margins to make these changes to the way they produce furniture currently
  • Some don't believe there is a big enough problem to warrant a change to the voluntary standard, let alone a stronger mandatory one. They claim there is not enough data, AKA, not enough dead and injured children to warrant change
  • The manufacturers who are or want to do the right thing are afraid their competition will out-sell them if the "bad actors" don't have to comply, which will impact profits, so they are reluctant to make the standard any stronger
  • Many manufacturers actually want a mandatory standard to level the playing field and force everyone to follow the same rules, but we want it to be stronger and more effective than the current voluntary safety standard is.  But until it's required by law, they are highly unlikely to do the right thing because it will cost them more to produce the furniture which means lower profits for the companies

The industry knows right now, how to make furniture more stable and less likely to tip.  They have the ability to test furniture to the standard the STURDY Act would require, and some already do!. But they are few and far between. Without a law and accountability, the "bad actors" continue to put children's lives at risk. 

Because it's only optional/voluntary right now, until it's required by law, and instability is engineered out of furniture by design, and clothing storage furniture is tested to a minimum effective safety standard that is universal and mandatory, children will continue to be injured and killed by dressers and other pieces of furniture.  It's that simple. The statistics over the last 20 years have proven this time and time again. 

If you've not read my previous blog posts about why we need the STURDY Act and the problems with the CPSC's authority and the voluntary furniture safety standard process, please do take the time to read them for the background history that explains why the STURDY Act is so vital to significantly reducing the number of injuries and deaths to children from tip-overs.  These are also great links to include when you write to your Senator! You can find them here:

The STURDY Act:  Why we need Congress to do now, what the CPSC and ASTM furniture safety sub-committee have not been able to do

Preventing Furniture Tip-Overs: The Data Dilemma

What's wrong with the current system for developing stronger furniture safety standards?

Broken: Deadly Dressers.  A review and understanding of the scope of furniture tip-overs

Why do I need ALL of you to contact your Senators and ask them to support the STURDY Act?

• Because the more people they hear from, the more likely they are to move this bill forward.  Without their constituents letting them know this issue is important to them, they won't take it up for a vote.  They may not even know it exists!
• Because they will only "listen" to their constituents, meaning people who live in their state and can vote for them. 
• The more people our Senators hear from, and the more compelling our calls and letters, the more attention they will pay to this bill and the more likely it will be that they they will co-sponsor it, present it to the full committee for a hearing and discussion, and hopefully pass to the full Senate and on to the President for signature into law.  
• Because we need every U.S. Senator to become aware of the STURDY Act, understand why it's so important, and ask that they co-sponsor it,
  • We especially need those who are members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the sub-committee on manufacturing, trade, and consumer protection to co-sponsor it.
    • ​It's vitally important that we contact the Republican members of that committee and of the entire Senate for that matter, to educate them and ask that they co-sponsor and support this bill. 
    • For that reason, if you are from, or know someone who is from the following states, I especially need your help!  Mississippi, South Dakota, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska,Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Tennessee, West Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida, Washington state, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Mexico, Michigan, Montana, Arizona, and Nevada.
• Because by contacting every Senator we can, by as many people as we can, is the best chance we have of getting the subcommittee to schedule a hearing and the best chance of making a significant impact on the numbers of children injured and killed by dressers and other clothing storage furniture.

Whether your Senators are Republican, Democratic, or Independent, my goal is that with your help, all of them will become aware of the issue of furniture tip-over, the STURDY Act, and be compelled to co-sponsor and support it in the next two months. 

Why do we need your help?
On September 17th, 2019, the STURDY Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support (HR 2211) and was referred to the Senate committee on science, commerce, and transportation, where it had first been introduced by Senator Robert Casey on June 19th, 2019. 

The Senate had made it clear that they will not even consider any bill that does not have a Republican co-sponsor and Republican support. I can assure you that tip-overs are not a partisan issue.  Furniture falls equally on both Democratic and Republican children (and adults!).  This is an issue of child safety, not one of politics or partisanship. The STURDY Act will save lives.  We need to ensure the Senators all understand this about the STURDY Act.

Senators need to hear from YOU, their constituents, to not only be made aware of the issue of tip-over, but that you want them to take action to stop it by supporting, co-sponsoring, and passing the STURDY Act in the Senate in this session of Congress (this year).

At the very least, the chair could at least have a hearing on the bill, to learn more and do their due diligence for the greater good of their constituents! I can write to every Senator in the U.S. but only the ones from my state will likely listen to me, since others can't get my vote.  This is why I need your help! 

Here's how you can help!
It's quick and it's easy and there are 3 ways you can help.  Choose one, or better yet, choose all 3! 

1. Write to your senator, either by email or the old fashioned way, with a letter through the mail.  Email is faster and will get read more quickly, but doing both is ideal.  If you email, you can use the contact form on their Website or email an aide directly. I have contact information for every senator, so feel fee to message me if you can't find it and need help!
2. Call your Senator's Washington, DC office and ask to speak to their legislative aide.  This is important, even if you write to them, you should call them, too. To follow up on your email and/or letter, and to ensure your request reaches a human! It can take weeks for those emails and letters to get read, and while they are important, a phone call is an immediate way to alert your Senator about the issue, why it's important to you, and why you want them to support and co-sponsor the STURDY Act. It also gives them a heads up to be looking for that email or letter and hopefully peak their interest enough to want to learn more and follow up. 
3. Call your Senator's local district office closest to you and request a meeting with them when they are in their home state (or, if you'll be in D.C, in their D.C. office) or they may offer you a meeting with a legislative aide if a meeting with the Senator can't happen in the next few months.  This is an important and powerful way to use your voice on any issue, but especially this one.  Personal face to face connections are the most effective way to get support and make an impact.  My own Representative has told me that many times. 
4. Share this quick and easy (literally takes one minute) way to send a form letter to your Senator on your social media accounts with a brief explanation as to how one minute of their time can save lives. While a call and personal letter are more effective, sending a form letter request that literally takes a minute, is better than nothing!  Click on the link in pink!  You'll need to enter your name, email, phone #, home address, and zip code (these details are required by Congress to verify and ensure your letter goes to your state Senators) End Deadly Tip-Overs: Send a letter to your Senator asking them to support the STURDY Act and it takes literally one minute! 

How do I find out who my Senators are and how to contact them?
Go to www.senate.gov/senators/contact and use the drop down menu to choose your state.  That will bring you to a listing of your state's senators, their D.C. address and phone number, and a link to contact them. 

Once you know who your senators are, you can also Google their name and find their Website, if there is not a link from the senate.gov page. Their official Website will have their local office locations and contact information as well as other information you might find helpful or interesting about them, like what other bills they support and their public schedule.

What do you say when you call or write your Senator?
I've made it easy for you!  If you are not sure what to say or write, I've provided a sample letter and script here.  Feel free to use it as a guide if you need to. Using a personal why/story is much more effective than just asking them to support and co-sponsor a bill they know nothing about.  Since you most likely will be talking to an aide unless you secure a face to face meeting, you need to educate them when you call and write.

When you call:

• Call your Senator's Washington, D.C. office phone # and ask for the legislative aide.  If they are not available, then it's fine to leave a message on their voice mail after speaking with the aide that answers the phone about why you are calling. Go through this entire script if you can with each person you speak with!
• Get the aides name, phone extension, and email address if possible so you can follow up.  Make note of the date you called, too.  
• Send me a message via Facebook or at info@meghanshope.org to let me know which senators you have contacted please, and message me again if you get any response or follow up from them at all at a later date, too! I'd like to keep track for my own reference should I have the opportunity to testify before the Committee.
• Here's a script you can use:

" Hi, my name is _________________ and I'm from ______________________ (town, state).  I'm calling today to ask Senator _______________'s support of the STURDY Act, bill S1902.  It stands for Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth.  Did you know that every 24 minutes a piece of furniture tips over in the U.S. and that every 37 minutes a child is sent to an emergency room with injuries from a fallen piece of furniture? About every 11 days a child dies from those injuries. We know that from 2000-2018, there were 556 deaths due to tip-overs, and 459 of them were children, which means while most of these injuries and deaths happen to children, they can happen to adults, too! Have you ever heard of this danger before?

<if yes, engage in conversation about how they knew.  If no, then share your personal connection, or Meghan's story and how it impacted you, and why preventing tip-over is so important to you.  Maybe because you have young children and until you heard Meghan's story, you had no idea, maybe your child or even you had a near miss and didn't realize how lucky you were, maybe you had a dresser that's been recalled or you saw the documentary BROKEN.  Whatever your connection is, share it and it's ok to be emotional!> 

This bill would require that the CPSC issue a mandatory rule (furniture safety standard) within one year of it's enactment that would mandate:

• Testing on all clothing storage units, regardless of height
• Require that testing to simulate the weight of a child 72 months of age
• Require testing that accounts for the way children interact with furniture in the real world.  Testing that would include loaded drawers, accounting for the impact of carpeting on stability, and simulating the dynamic forces a climbing child would cause
• Mandate strong warning requirements and labels

The STURDY Act passed the House in September with bipartisan support, and is now in the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation.  I know there is a lot on the Senator's plate right now, but this is an issue that affects every single one of their constituents.  Furniture tip-over is not a partisan issue, it's a safety issue.  Furniture falls on Republican and Democratic children equally, and their parents are equally devastated when it happens.  The Senator is in a position to save lives and protect their most vulnerable constituents, our children. 

In the course of your day today, 70 people will be victims of a tip-over.  38 will be rushed to an ER.  One of them may die from their injuries, or suffer a catastrophic, life-changing injury. It could be a child you know and love. All of them could be prevented, if the STURDY Act were law.  

As the voice of the people in the Senate, Senator___________ has the opportunity and the power to protect children from this danger in every home, right now.  I respectfully ask that the senator take the time to learn more about this issue and strongly consider co-sponsoring the STURDY Act to send a message to your constituents and your colleagues that protecting their children is a top priority for you. 

I am happy to send you additional information/links to the bill, and resources that you may find helpful for yourself and Senator _____________ as they consider their support of this important safety legislation. What is the best email address for me to send that to? My contact information is ___________________ (name, phone/email). Could I please have your name and contact information as well?  

Thank you so much for your time and it's my sincere hope that Senator _____________ supports this important and lifesaving bill and signs on as a co-sponsor."

If you write:

• Send your letter or email to their Washington D.C. office address and to the attention of their legislative aide.  If you don't know who their legislative aide is you can call and ask for that person's name and email address or just put "Attention: Legislative Aide" in your email subject line or on your envelope. This helps get your letter into the right person's hands faster.  Know that it can take weeks or your letter to actually reach someone's desk.
• You can find a generic letter here.  All you need to do is personalize it with your Senator's contact information, your contact information, and ideally a brief, personal story explaining why this issue and bill is important to you. You can share how Meghan's story impacted you, your own story of a tip-over or near miss, or that of someone you know personally, and why you want them to represent your voice by co-sponsoring this bill. These areas that need you to edit/change are highlighted in yellow.  You will need to copy and paste the letter, personalize it, eliminate the highlighting, and then you can send it via email or regular mail.  Or even better, both! 
• You can of course, also write your own letter, too. You don't need to use the template I provided! 
• You can/should also refer to the STURDY Act by it's name and bill # which is S1902, the STURDY Act Fact Sheet, and attach both to any emails you send and print a copy to mail if you are mailing the old fashioned way. 
• You can also refer them to Meghan's Hope, Consumer Reports (search furniture tip-over) and Parents Against Tip-Overs if they have any questions or would like additional information 

Up the ante, and encourage your friends and families to do the same! 
Please encourage your families and friends in your state and other states to also contact their Senators and ask them to co-sponsor and support the STURDY Act. Share this blog post along with an explanation of why you want your friends and family to take a few minutes to use their voice to protect kids from tip-overs and prevent any other family from knowing my pain.  People are far more likely to click on a link and take action, as well as share it with others, if you include your personal reasons for asking them to. 

There is tremendous power in numbers and the more people they hear from, the more aware they will become about tip-overs, the more likely they will be to support and co-sponsor the bill, and the more likely they will be to give this bill a chance to be heard and discussed in the committee, and hopefully, become law by the end of this session of Congress.

Otherwise, it will die there at the end of this year without ever being recognized or discussed when this session of Congress ends, as will countless more children, until an effective mandatory furniture safety standard is a reality, and without the STURDY Act becoming law, that is far less likely to happen. 

Thank you for your help and your support!  If you have any questions or need any assistance, please message me at info@meghanshope.org.  

On Thanksgiving eve 2019, Netflix released a new 4-episode documentary series called Broken.  One of those episodes, the third, is called “Deadly Dressers”.  It’s a topic I am intimately familiar with, because I lost my 3-year old daughter Meghan 15 years ago this December 18th to a dresser tip-over.  You can learn more about her story here:  www.meghanshope.org

Since her death, I have been a vocal advocate for tip-over education and prevention.  I am also quite familiar with the content of this episode, because I, along with my fellow members of Parents Against Tip-Overs, are a part of this documentary.

After watching the much anticipated final product, more than a year after we were filmed and interviewed for it, and taking some time to process it and formulate my thoughts, I want to share with you what the documentary did, and more importantly, did not, effectively bring to the attention of the viewer with regard to furniture tip-over incidence and prevention.

The birth of Broken and the role of Parents Against Tip-Overs
In the late spring of 2018, Parents Against Tip-Overs (PAT) was born, formed by a group of parents who had all lost a child to a furniture and/or TV tip-over.  Each of us had been advocating on our own, some with our own organizations dedicated to tip-over prevention and awareness, and some of us, like myself, for more than a decade.  We had found each other thanks to the internet and social media, and after talking to each other, and expressing the same frustrations that our independent organizations were finding it difficult to make a nationwide impact, we decided to form a nationwide coalition.  If we were all trying to do the same thing in our own geographic area, would our voices be that much louder and more powerful if we joined forces?  Could we get our message to a national level if we worked together? The answer, based on what we’ve accomplished in the last year, is a resounding, yes!

As we formed our mission and goals for the coming year, we formed partnerships with two other nationally experienced advocacy groups, Kids in Danger and Consumer Reports.  They shared their knowledge and experience with us, and helped us organize a trip to Washington, D.C. where we all met each other for the first time, met with all five CPSC commissioners, and attended the ASTM Furniture Safety Sub-Committee bi-annual meeting.  During the planning for this, Netflix reached out to one of our members and expressed interest in following us and filming us for a documentary they were working on, and they did just that.

We were, of course, not allowed to discuss it publicly until about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, when the series and trailer was announced.

Why do dressers tip-over and are they really deadly?
Overall, this episode was very well done.  It was captivating, educational, and engaged the viewer for the entire hour.  It begins by introducing you to PAT mom Janet McGee, who lost her son Ted when his IKEA MALM dresser fell on him and killed him during his nap time on Valentine’s day 2016.  It then takes you on a journey to understand how furniture used to be made and how that has evolved to the lighter, do-it-yourself assembly type of furniture that costs less to produce because manufacturing moved to China, and lasts only a few years, versus furniture being designed to last a lifetime like it used to be.

The furniture of today also largely uses lightweight materials for the backing of furniture, making it inherently top and front heavy and thus inherently more unstable than a dresser that has a solid wood back.  Consumers loved furniture that was cheap and allowed for change every few years.  It’s how IKEA was born and thrives.

The documentary did briefly cover how furniture tip-overs happen, basically explaining what so many people fail to understand about tip-overs.  It’s not a parenting or supervision problem.  It’s about lever arms (open drawers) and torque (kids interacting with dressers, which changes the dresser’s center of gravity, causing them to tip).  It’s about physics, plain and simple.

The answer to whether or not dressers are deadly? The answer is yes! 
Since 2000, we know of at least 542 fatalities related to falling furniture, and there have been reports of hundreds of thousands of injuries, most of these to children under 5, though older children and even adults are not immune.  The current statistics are that a tip-over happens about every 17 minutes.  About every half hour a child is seen in an ER for injuries related to a tip-over, and about every 11 days a child dies.  (numbers from the 2018 CPSC Tip-Over Report)

It’s important to understand that you cannot tell by looking at a dresser, or any piece of furniture for that matter, whether or not it poses a tip-over risk. It doesn’t matter how heavy or light it is (it took 2 adults to move Meghan’s dresser).  It doesn’t matter who made it or where you bought it.  It doesn’t matter if it was cheap or expensive.  If it’s not anchored to the wall it can tip and it can seriously injure or kill a child. Period.

Is it about Deadly Dressers or just one kind of deadly dresser?
That said, this episode of Broken was really about IKEA and aimed at exposing their deceptive history, marketing, illegal sourcing of wood, and resistance to fixing the tip-over problem they knew existed.  A problem that they knew had killed children.  It exposed their resistance to recalling their MALM dresser, even after it was known to have killed several children, even after multiple lawsuits, and even after much negative press, they still refused to recall the MALM. 

Two of those parents whose children were killed by a MALM dresser are founding members of Parents Against Tip-Overs.  One of them, Janet McGee, was featured prominently in the documentary.  She was incredibly articulate in speaking about the issues with IKEA, their unstable furniture, and their refusal to do the right thing (making their furniture stable and adherent to the current voluntary furniture safety standard to being with and recalling it immediately when the first death was reported) directly resulting in her son’s completely preventable death.  She also made it clear that the goal of Parents Against Tip-Overs is to work with all manufacturers to make safer furniture, trying to make the point that it’s not just IKEA that is the problem and their goal was to hold IKEA accountable.

IKEA absolutely needs to be called out for their deception and resistance to recalling the MALM, and their failure to market the recall the same way they market their other products, burying the recall notice on their Website, taking weeks and months to respond to requests for the repair or pick up and reimbursement option of the recall, and resisting requests from PAT members to meet and discuss ways to make the recall more effective. They have the proverbial blood of these dead and who knows how many injured children on their hands and did nothing they were not required to do as a result of those lawsuit settlements.  

It was not until the media and advocacy groups turned up the pressure, mounted lawsuits, and publicly called them out again and again with negative press, and the CPSC finally took legal action against them to encourage and eventually force a recall, along with the deaths of even more children while they actively resisted a recall, that they finally even agreed to recalling the MALM.  The fact that it took more than one death, let alone all the media pressure and the fact they utilized every loophole to their advantage is irresponsible and completely unacceptable.  This is something the public knew nothing about until now.

IKEA, and all manufacturers, have a moral and ethical obligation to make a safe product, and as soon as they get a report of a serious injury or death, they should be pro-active in addressing it by alerting the public, not burying their heads in the sand and throwing money at it, as if that will fix the problem or bring any solace to those parents who had to bury their children because of IKEA’s greed. This episode did a fabulous job at conveying those points.

It was not mentioned or made clear in the documentary, that other IKEA furniture has killed children including the HEMNES dresser, a wardrobe, and RAAKE dresser so far that we are aware of.

It’s not just IKEA!
What was not made clear, was the fact that more than half of the members of PAT’s children were NOT killed by IKEA dressers, but by dressers made by other manufacturers. This is true of the general statistics as well.  Furniture that was made by manufacturers who do not all make ready to assemble furniture.  Manufacturers that make juvenile furniture and furniture that was sold and marketed as nursery furniture. 

Parents assume if a product is sold in the United States, especially if it is marketed for children, is safe.  That is simply not true.  Just look at how many products are recalled every week! You can find them at www.cpsc.gov/recalls

This is concerning and disappointing, for it is not just IKEA or ready to assemble furniture that is falling on and injuring and killing kids, yet for many in this country, that’s what they take away from all the media coverage about IKEA tip-overs.  Including this documentary.

Exposing the role and limitations of the CPSC
The documentary also brought to light some of the problems with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and their role in protecting the consumer when the agency becomes aware of unsafe, dangerous, and downright deadly products. 

Former Chair Marietta Robinson was fantastic and pointed out several problems that I wholeheartedly agree with.  The CPSC is an agency hardly anyone knows about, but everyone relies on because their mission is to protect the consumer from “unreasonably dangerous products” and to issue recalls.

The Commission, at least some of its members, act in the interest of industry far more often than they do in the interest of the consumer.  Sadly, this often happens along political party lines, which is also completely unacceptable for a Federal Agency tasked with keeping the citizens of the U.S. safe.  They are the CONSUMER product safety commission, not the industry product protection commission!  I also assure you, tip-over is not a partisan issue.  Both Republican and Democratic children are equally victims of tip-overs.  Furniture doesn’t discriminate who it falls on! 

Thankfully, acting Chair Ann Marie Buerkle who was interviewed in the documentary, has resigned her position and is no longer at the CPSC. Commissioner Robert Adler, who is featured in the scenes with the members of PAT around the table, is now the acting Chair.  The current makeup of the Commission is 2 Republican commissioners and 2 Democratic commissioners with one more to be named by the President soon, to fill the seat left vacant with acting Chair Buerkle resigned.

Section 6(b) – The gag order that delays or prevents recalls, and results in preventable injuries and deaths!
Another little known, but incredibly important restriction on the CPSC was also part of this episode, although it was only briefly touched upon.  It’s called section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).  It basically says that the Commission cannot disclose a product hazard or issue a recall without the agreement of the manufacturer!  This allows the manufacturer to dictate the terms of any public notice of known injuries or deaths, or to refuse to have any public disclosure at all!  If the Commission feels strongly, that they need to go above the head of the industry, they must sue the manufacturer, which takes years and requires funding the Commission just doesn’t have in their budget.  This is what happened with IKEA and the dresser recall, and had IKEA agreed to and issued the recall when they learned of the first death, instead of their “repair” program, Ted McGee, Camden Ellis, and the other children who have died from the MALM dresser, might be alive today!

This is the same reason the Fisher Price Rock and Play and other inclined sleepers were not recalled until Consumer Reports wrote a scathing article citing twice as many deaths as the CPSC reported (but both they and Fisher Price knew about) and a media storm ensued, resulting in tons of negative press and demands by consumer groups and the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue an immediate recall.  Only then, did Fisher Price agree to a recall!
This needs to stop!  Manufacturers need to be held accountable and do the right thing to keep consumers safe.  If they won’t do it on their own, the CPSC needs the authority to force a recall without their consent and notify the public of potential or actual hazards that can result in injury or death.  No exceptions.

Unfortunately, only Congress can repeal 6(b), and only a massive public outcry will make that happen. We need your help with that!  We need you to write or call your Congressional representatives and senators and tell them you want to see section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act repealed!

The CPSC has the power to issue a mandatory standard, but is dragging their feet
The CPSC also has the power, right now, to issue a mandatory furniture safety standard.  They have been divided on doing so and the Republican members of the commission voted against using their power to do so under another rulemaking part of the Consumer Product Safety Act.  Instead, the three that voted against it, want to allow the voluntary process to do its work while they wait for more “data”.  In March of this year, all 5 commissioners agreed to work toward a mandatory standard.  They have begun their own testing, but this process is likely to take years.  The furniture industry is more than happy to bide their time and wait so they can continue to avoid making changes that would make furniture safer now.

What’s this voluntary standard?
The voluntary standard process basically allows the industry to make dressers however they want, safe and stable or not, because the voluntary standard is basically a suggestion.  Because it’s not required that manufacturers follow it, many do not. 

The voluntary standard the ASTM sub-committee on furniture safety is tasked with creating (largely comprised of furniture manufacturers) has existed for nearly 20 years!  If they can’t create an effective voluntary standard in 20 years, they likely never will unless they are forced to.  Why?  Because the industry doesn’t want it.  They whine that if the “good actors” comply with the standard, or make it even stronger, the ones who don’t follow the voluntary standard at all will get a bigger market share which translates into lower profits.  Basically, they are putting profits over the health and safety of children.  They will tell you they aren’t, but the stalling, stonewalling, circular arguments and constantly saying they don’t have enough data will tell you the truth.

That said, there are some manufacturers that do comply with the voluntary standard and some that even go beyond it and test furniture for stability with a higher test weight.  Very recently, with the media coverage from Consumer Reports, and media featuring PAT parents over the past year, and ahead of the release of Broken, has found them suddenly much more invested in anchoring education and a desire to work with retailers, which while good, this could also be the industry’s way of diverting and avoiding having to make more stable furniture.  It’s cheaper and easier that way.

The problems with the voluntary standard process, and the industry’s concerns versus ours, as well as the impact PAT has had by attending and participating in these standards meetings could very easily have been incorporated into this documentary, and we very much wanted it to be, but it was not.

How are dressers tested for safety?
The documentary did include a video and description of the current way dressers are tested for “safety”.  The test is inadequate and downright misleading.  Children don’t gently open only one drawer and gradually put up to 50 lbs of force on it.  It’s not a real-world use test, nor is it good enough to protect kids from tip-over injuries and deaths.  It also did not explain what the voluntary safety standard is and what it does and does not include. It currently only covers clothing storage units 27 inches tall and taller.  Testing does not reflect real-world use, or account for the forces of a child interacting with a dresser, opening multiple drawers, pulling, pushing, or climbing on it, nor does it account for the effect of carpeting versus a hard floor, all of which impact stability and tip-over risk.  It also only accounts for children up to age 5 in weight and we know older children and even adults have been injured and killed when a clothing storage unit of furniture has tipped on them. This is a huge issue and one we desperately wanted to be brought to the attention of the viewer and it was not.

The CPSC is engaging in their own testing, which we’ve asked for and given input into, and the industry is more than happy to wait for their data rather than aggressively move forward with their own testing to advance the stability and safety of furniture and create a stronger and more effective voluntary standard. The CPSC has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR). This was indicated at the very end of the episode and as it clearly said, it’s expected to take years.

We don’t have years.  Its already been far too long.  542 fatalities from tip-over is more than enough data. The industry has had more than enough time to do the right thing and create a robust voluntary furniture safety standard.  So has the CPSC.  Frankly, they’ve both failed.  Not only our kids, who died, but yours, too, because it could just as easily happen to you. 

What we do have – The CPSC Anchor It! Campaign
In 2015, after 10 years of myself and other advocates trying to get the word out that furniture needs to be anchored to the wall to prevent tip-overs, the CPSC launched their Anchor It! Campaign.  I, Lisa Seifert from Shane’s Foundation, and Keisha Bowles from Another Day, Another Chance, were part of that launch as community advocates for the campaign.  A PSA featuring the 3 of us was called “Real Moms Urge You to Anchor It” and performed very well on social media, helping to reach parents and connect the issue of tip-over and the need to anchor by using our tragic personal stories.

That said, the consumer should not have to take the final step to make furniture safer and the industry should not consider this a reason to avoid making safer and more stable furniture.  Manufacturers know right now how to design and construct furniture so that it is stable, but it will increase their production costs and so they resist.  Until ALL manufacturers are required to do so, newer furniture, as well as the existing furniture in your home, must be anchored to the wall.

One other important thing that you need to realize is that furniture anchors and straps, including the ones sold with furniture, are not actually tested by a universal standard, if at all, to see if they are capable of holding a dresser/piece of furniture to the wall. 

The anchors sold with dressers are only required to hold 50 pounds for a brief period of time when slowly and carefully hung from one end of the anchor.  They are not tested when attached to the wall and the dresser and installation instructions, while included, are not always clear. 

Most dressers weigh more than 50 lbs, especially once drawers are full, and when you add the weight of a child and forces created when drawers are open and pulled on or climbed in. It adds up to way more than 50 pounds! That said, anchoring your furniture is absolutely necessary and more than one anchor may be (and very likely will be) needed. 
You can learn more about how and why to anchor your furniture at www.anchorit.gov.

Parents Against Tip-Overs: What you see versus what happened that week
The members of Parents Against Tip-Overs were followed for an entire day by the Netflix crew.  They likely had about 6-8 hours of footage from that day just from us.  Plus, they interviewed Janet McGee and Brett Horn at their homes shortly afterwards.  You saw a very small fraction of what we discussed, advocated for, and the larger mission of PAT. 
We met with all five CPSC Commissioners that day.  They did not film every meeting, but we had hoped our purpose in meeting with all of them would be part of the episode.  A fraction of what we discussed with Commissioner Adler was shown, but many of our talking points, all of them valid and important, did not make the final cut.  They also interviewed a few of the commissioners one on one which you saw snippets of.  That said, I do think they did a good job telling the story they were trying to tell.

We also all attended the ASTM Furniture Safety sub-committee meeting.  It’s held twice a year, and most of us attend each meeting in person. If we can’t be there in person, we call in to participate via phone.  This is the organization that is tasked with developing the voluntary furniture safety standard for clothing storage units only (dressers and other pieces of furniture that would be used to store furniture like wardrobes, chests of drawers, etc.)  I’ve written about the issues and challenges with this process on the Meghan’s Hope Safety Blog previously. 

We hoped that the process of developing a voluntary standard, and the industry’s resistance to creating an effective voluntary standard, would be included and highlighted, because it’s a huge part of why the statistics on tip-over injuries and deaths have not significantly decreased and a huge part of the mission of Parents Against Tip-Overs.  It was not.  The voluntary standard was briefly mentioned, but not how it is developed and how strongly the industry fights to prevent changes.  It’s contentious, and the same circular arguments happen every meeting.  At the end of the day, the manufacturers are afraid it will increase their costs, resulting in decreased profits, and that the manufacturers who don’t participate and comply with the voluntary standard will get all the business. 

IKEA is an active part of this sub-committee with us.  It would have been easy to include this information, even if they could not film the meeting, but they did not. It was alluded to, but the average viewer likely did not make that connection.

I believe the producers at least requested interviews with other industry members of the ASTM sub-committee.  I do not know if those interviews were on camera, if they happened at all, and why they chose not to include this vitally important aspect of the fight to end furniture/dresser tip-over in this documentary.

PAT also had dinner that night and Netflix filmed much of it, talking to us individually or in small groups, and taking the wider, broader shots.  Some of the more poignant moments were shown, and they were important and impactful, but so much more of what we are passionate about, discussed that night, and wanted them to help us bring to the attention of the viewer could have been included in this documentary.

What’s Broken about Broken’s Deadly Dressers Episode?
While I feel the Netflix documentary, Broken: Deadly Dressers was an incredibly well-made documentary, and it did bring to light some of the issues contributing to dresser tip-overs, it did not leave the average viewer with the “OMG, I had no idea this could happen, we have to secure our dressers right now” feeling I was hoping it would.

Instead, it was much, much too focused on IKEA, and far beyond the role the company has in furniture tip-over.  I have heard more "I'll never shop at IKEA again" comments than I've heard "I need to anchor my dresser to the wall" comments, and that's deeply concerning and frustrating. If the viewer got the message furniture tip-over is a danger they need to address in their homes, the vast majority think it’s only cheap or IKEA furniture that’s a danger.  That is very dangerous thinking. This is a perception that has grown among parents and the public with every new media story focused on IKEA dressers. I want to scream IT'S NOT JUST IKEA DRESSERS THAT KILL KIDS!

That comment is in no way meant to minimize the deaths of the children from IKEA dressers a wardrobes.  It’s just that the public, and even the media, forms their opinion based on what they hear and see, and there is very little about the bigger issue of tip-over outside of IKEA’s MALM dressers in the media today.  It's no wonder the public has the perception they do, which is why I wish there was less time spent on IKEA and more time spent on the other issues parents need to know about to keep their kids safe from ALL furniture in this documentary. I feel the media has a responsibility to expose all of the issues, especially when we are feeding them what they need to educate the public about.

I understand that the goal of the Broken docuseries was to highlight how deceit in product manufacturing and marketing can have significant and even deadly consequences, but a tremendous opportunity was missed and could have been incorporated, even with a heavier focus on IKEA as the example.

There were aspects of the documentary that could have been addressed in less time, allowing for the inclusion of the other aspects of tip-over prevention. For example, the entire segment on deforestation could have been much shorter and still have gotten the point across. 

Points I wish they spent bit more time on:

• The fact that ALL furniture has the potential to tip over and injure children, not just IKEA or inexpensive ready to assemble furniture.  This fact cannot be emphasized enough!
• Where the data for the statistics on tip-over come from and what the problems are with it. The crux of which is the fact we know, and the CPSC admits, that the data is only estimated and largely under-reported.  My own survey results support this. I wrote an in depth blog on this topic here:  The tip-over data dilemma
• The fact that you cannot tell by looking at a piece of furniture/dresser how safe or unsafe it is.  It doesn’t matter how much it cost, who made it, where it’s sold, what it’s made from, how heavy or light it is, or what room of the house it’s in.  If it’s not anchored properly to the wall, it can tip.  This is a point that could have easily been made along side the IKEA focus, especially tying in the stories all the Parents Against Tip-Overs and what type of dresser fell on their child.
• What the current voluntary standard says, what type of furniture is included, and what type is not, who is responsible for creating that standard, and why it’s so difficult to make that standard effective.  Exposing the furniture industry as a whole and their resistance to advancing that standard is an important part of our fight that was not clearly explained and the public needs to know that.
• Why we need a mandatory furniture safety standard NOW, which leads to the STURDY act, what it is, why we need it, and the fact we need the public’s help in getting it passed through the senate.  This bill was preceded by three other bills related to furniture safety introduced to the U.S. House that lay the groundwork for it and was “in the works” at the time of filming. It could have been included if in no other way, then at the end in the same way they added the information about the CPSC voting to proceed with working toward the creation of a mandatory safety standard. Stay tuned, my next blog will be all about the STURDY Act and how you can help us get a strong, effective, mandatory and comprehensive furniture safety standard that all manufacturers need to comply with.
• They did not include vitally important information on how to report a tip-over or any other product hazard to Safer Products.gov which is one of the ways the CPSC gets the vitally important data on furniture tip-over
• The fact that the only way to ensure ALL furniture in your home doesn’t tip-over on your child is to anchor it to the wall with an appropriate anchor(s) according to manufacturer directions.
• The fact that furniture anchors (including the ones that come with furniture, even IKEA’s) are not actually tested when attached to the furniture to see if they’ll hold the weight of the furniture with a child climbing on it and can and have failed.  Anchors are not all created equal. There are many counterfeit anchors on the market that are less expensive, not tested at all, and made with cheaper materials and even more likely to fail and consumers don't know the difference.

 
One of my biggest frustrations is the lack of the backstory on the groundwork laid by parent advocates long before the IKEA deaths were exposed in the media. Important steps that started this entire process in motion including bills in Congress asking for warning labels, anchors sold with furniture, and instructions came from a bill first introduced in 2005 and bearing my daughter’s name, grassroots letter writing (with pen and paper, before everyone had email!), media coverage that was only TV and print and before it could be shared electronically, and years and years of advocating for anchoring furniture, safety standards, and getting the messaging out there by word of mouth, long before social media existed, that there is no inherently safe furniture. The work of parent advocates before social media is what got this ball rolling and catalyzed the CPSC's now annual tip-over report, moved the voluntary standard process along to include warning labels, anchors, and to create a stability test in the first place.  

Because this backstory was not explained, many comments we’ve received are to the tune of “Why wouldn’t you just use the anchor kit that was included and follow the directions?”  "Why are you blaming the manufacturer for your failure to anchor your dresser?"  They don’t understand that if it were not for parents like me/us, those anchors, warning labels and directions would not be included today!  Our reality was very different because we didn't know and anchoring was not on anyone's radar 15 years ago. Although some manufacturers are trying to do the right thing and follow the voluntary standard, many do not.

Because the safety standard is still only voluntary, warning labels and anchors are not included with many pieces of furniture today!  It also wasn’t clear (though it was alluded to) that IKEA’s Secure It campaign was only created so they could avoid a recall, not because they wanted to protect children out of a moral or ethical obligation. The general public think all the negative attention on IKEA is unjust because they tell people to anchor furniture.  They completely missed the point they only started that program because they were forced to.

This has resulted in all of us receiving accusatory and inflammatory posts and parent blaming and shaming comments, who think we were blaming IKEA or the industry for our ignorance. They completely missed the fact that we did not know about this risk until our kids died, and we went public with our stories to expose the industry for their shady and resistant practices to protect THEIR kids. They know about it because of us. It could just have easily happened to their kids. They aren't special or better, they are just luckier than we were. We expected that we would receive these types of messages from trolls and parent shamers, in part because we’ve been receiving those comments for years, but an opportunity was missed by Netflix to help us share this important aspect of the tip-over back story and truly set the tone for the documentary. 

That said the documentary did address the following:

• The multi-layered problems with IKEA’s resistance to acting in the best interest of its customers in favor of its pocketbook as well as exposing their unethical and irresponsible business practices
• What causes dressers to tip over
• The problems with the CPSC and how they contribute to children continuing to suffer injuries and deaths from tip-overs
• It brought a human and emotional aspect to the tip-over issue by showing the parent advocates of Parents Against Tip-Overs in action and sharing parts of their stories, frustrations, and suggestion

The impact of BROKEN: Deadly Dressers on the pubic

• It has generated discussion on social media and an opportunity to engage with people on the topic of furniture tip-over

• It’s led to some people sharing their own tip-over story publicly for the first time, and an opportunity for us to provide support and information to them
• People are more aware there is a problem with dressers falling on and killing kids than they were before they saw the documentary, and even if they have a narrow view of what kind of furniture tips, there is an awareness there they didn’t have before
• It has provided a conversation starter and an opportunity for many teachable moments
• Parents have reached out to ask how they can secure their furniture and what anchors they should use
• Parents and others have asked how they can help us share our message
• We're getting a lot more trolling and nasty comments on our own public media, but that was expected and it means people are at least aware of the issue, even if they don't believe it's something that can happen to them.

Final thoughts and our gift to you
While I thought and hoped the episode was going to be about the broader issue of furniture tip-overs, and not so focused on IKEA as a company outside of the topic of dresser tip-overs, I understand the picture they were trying to paint to tell the story, and I am deeply grateful to Netflix for helping to bring this issue to the awareness of their audience.

Children can interact with furniture in a thousand different ways.  999 times, that furniture might not wobble or tip-over.  But one time, it will.  You have no idea when that one time might be.  It could be the first time. It could be during nap or nighttime. It could be at grandma’s house, at day care, at your best friend’s house, at a store, at a hotel, or at a church hall.  It could be anywhere there is furniture that is not properly secured to the wall. 

It doesn't matter if...

• It doesn’t matter if your child has ever climbed before. 
• It doesn’t matter if you’ve told them not to climb on furniture. 
• It doesn’t matter if you are “always with them” because you are not. You sleep.  You use the bathroom.  You look at your phone a zillion times a day. Your eyes are not always on them, and even if they were, it won't stop a tip-over from happening.
• It doesn't matter if you are in the same room as they are. You can be in the same room and be powerless to stop a tip-over from happening.  Don’t take my word for it, ask the parents who’ve experienced the horror of watching it happen right in front of them.  
• It doesn't matter how fast you can move. You are not faster than gravity. 
• It doesn't matter if you think you'll hear the "crash" and be able to save them.  Once you hear the crash, it’s too late.  You also might hear nothing, because their body muffles the sound and they've already suffocated or suffered a catastrophic head injury. 
• It doesn't matter if you think statistically it won't happen to you.  It can. 

What does matter:

• Anchoring your furniture.  All of it.  Anchor your TV’s.  All of them.  Do it today. Don’t let your child play in places where furniture and TV’s are not anchored. Ever. 

I didn’t know about the danger Meghan’s dresser posed.  None of the PAT parents did, either. 

You do. 

Netflix, I, and Parents Against Tip-Overs have given you a tremendous gift.  We’ve told you another way you can protect your child from serious injury or death.  Trust me.  You don’t want to join our “club”.  You don’t want to bury your child knowing you could have prevented their death.  A few dollars and a few minutes to anchor will save lives.

Please, take the issue of furniture tip-over seriously.  It doesn’t just happen with IKEA furniture.  It doesn’t happen to “bad” parents.  It's not a supervision problem. It happens because of physics.  Let me say that again.  It happens because of physics.  You can’t predict the exact scenario your child might interact with a piece of furniture to cause it to fall on them, but you can prevent it. 

I’d like to conclude with this sentiment yet again, because it’s that important and I feel I can’t say it enough.

You cannot tell by looking at a dresser if it’s likely to tip over.

• It doesn’t matter who made it. 
• It doesn’t matter how heavy or light it is. 
• It doesn’t matter how tall or wide it is. 
• It doesn’t matter where you bought it. 

If it is not properly anchored to the wall, it can tip over and it can seriously injure or kill a child. 

It’s that simple.  It’s that scary. It’s true.  It happened to my child and it can happen to yours.

Please, Anchor it!
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In the spirit of collaboration, I am writing this open letter and blog post to the attention of the ASTM furniture safety sub-committee, the AHFA and furniture manufacturers, and the CPSC.  While I am grateful to be working together with you all to end tip-overs, and for the (painfully slow) progress that has been made, especially in the past year, I would like the opportunity to share with you important insights and thoughts, were I ever given the time for a formal presentation.  In lieu of that, I respectfully request you read this blog post instead.

The purpose of the ASTM Furniture Safety Sub-Committee
The ASTM furniture safety sub-committee, which is comprised of the American Home Furnishing Alliance (AHFA) and their member manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, other related industry professionals, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) all claim they want to end the tip-over epidemic as much as I and the other consumer members of the committee do. This is, in fact, what the committee was created to do. The problem is, they appear to have no apparent sense of urgency to do so, as is evidenced by the fact it's been 19 years since the committee was first formed, and there has been little significant change in the numbers of children injured and killed by falling furniture each year. I've also been told that this committee is likely the most dysfunctional and contentious sub-committee in all of ASTM.  

Only recently has the CPSC issued a notice of proposed rule making regarding tip-over prevention, and perhaps not coincidentally after members of Parents Against Tip-Overs, of which I am a founding member, met with all 5 commissioners last November to share our stories, our frustrations with the process, and our suggestions for solutions. We've kept in contact with the CPSC, testified in front of them about why this issue needs to be a priority, and follow up to be sure they are following through on tasks the assured us they would.

Likewise, our presence at the ASTM furniture safety sub-committee meeting has changed the dynamic of these meetings.  We call them out, we offer suggestions and insights into the problem, the process, and the solutions, that only we can, forcing them to at least listen to us, and hopefully, put an end to years of stalling, stonewalling, and circular arguments with no real progress.  All while hundreds of children have died and hundreds of thousands have been injured.  Every one of which could have been prevented if they took this issue to heart and truly cared about the children and families behind the statistics, instead of choosing to focus on their pocketbooks and serve political, professional, and corporate interests.

We sit together at the table several times a year at this ASTM furniture safety sub-committee and task group meetings, attempting to collaborate on creating a safety standard that is truly effective in preventing injuries and deaths due to tip-overs specific to clothing storage units (i.e. dressers or any furniture that can be used to store clothing). The current standard is only voluntary, and for reasons explained in previous blog posts, is inadequate and ineffective at preventing injuries and deaths, which primarily involve children, but also include adults and a growing number of the elderly.  

20 years is more than long enough
This sub-committee first formed in the year 2000.  Four years before my daughter died when her Ragazzi changing table/dresser fell on her in the early morning hours while the rest of the family was asleep.  We did not hear it fall, for her body absorbed the impact of the dresser falling onto her, and onto a carpeted floor.  She could not cry, for her head we presume was trapped in the vertical drawer, her airway compressed by the side of the drawer. She died in mere minutes. This is a commonality in tip-over deaths. For those who did not hear it fall, or can't understand how you can't hear a tip-over, this is why.

In an instant, just one week before Christmas in 2004, my world came crashing down, just like that dresser did on my only daughter, and I've had to live my life without my beautiful little girl, her twin without his soul mate, and her older brother without the sister he adored. Instead of making Christmas cookies that day, I had to figure out how to plan a funeral for my daughter. No parent should ever have to know this pain.  

Her death, like every other tip-over death, could have been prevented.  If her dresser was designed so that it was not front and top heavy, if it were stable when a child interacted with it, if it were tested for safety, if I knew of the risk it could fall and kill her, if I knew that a proper furniture anchor could also protect my children, and those anchors were advertised and widely available where other childproofing supplies are sold, I'd have used it. 

The Promise
I promised Meghan that cold and sunny December morning as I held her dead body in my arms and rocked her for the last time in the emergency room, that I would make sure she was the last child to die from a tip-over.  Much to my dismay, I was unable to keep my promise.  She was far from the last child to die from a falling piece of furniture, and the people in a position to prevent it from happening to others have yet to create effective and meaningful mandatory furniture safety standards. 

What the hell will it take to make that a reality?

In fact, since Meghan died on December 18th, 2004, according to the CPSC's 2018 Tip-Over Report, a total of 274 more (mostly) children have lost their lives to a furniture tip-over, and that's only through 2017.  That is beyond unacceptable.  Every single one of them could have been prevented.  Every. Single. One.  It's been 19 years since this sub-committee was formed and they STILL don't have an adequate safety standard, clearly evidenced by the fact the number of injuries and deaths per year have changed very little since 2000.

From 2006-2017 there were 402,300 ER visits because of furniture-tip-overs!  That's an average of 27,300 every single year, or 75 every day, or 3 every single hour of every single day.  And these are just the ones that were reported to the CPSC!  The actual number of tip-overs and minor injuries or near misses are likely easily twice this!
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My promise has not changed.  I will do everything I can to facilitate the end of injuries and deaths due to furniture tip-over. Including holding those in a position to make it happen right now accountable for doing so. I vowed to change the world by making it a safer place from tip-overs.  I will not rest until I do. 

​In the 14 years since Meghan died, the voluntary furniture safety standard itself has changed very little, and the changes that have been made were ones catalyzed by The Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act, a bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005 and again in 2008 in memory of my daughter and Katie Lambert.  It's cousin, the STURDY Act was just introduced last month. It is my fervent hope that the STURDY Act is embraced and supported by all members of Congress and passed. It's likely the only way we can put an end to the tip-over epidemic and force all furniture manufacturers to adhere to an adequate furniture safety standard once and for all.

​Why do we need Congress to pass a law? 
Because if a group of industry "experts" including engineers and masters of design can't find a way to stop tip-overs in 19 years, they likely never will until forced to do so.  It's not because they can't.  It's because they have a bigger concern than the well-being and safety of our children. Which I can only presume is the almighty dollar, which is clearly of more importance to them than hundreds of thousands of injured children every year or of parents who've had to bury their children as a result.

I have no choice to think that way, because we know college students have designed stable furniture that doesn't tip.  We know manufacturers right now have designs that are stable and don't tip even with a testing protocol stronger than the current voluntary standard.  We know that right now, this committee has two proposed changes to the standard that they've been arguing about for years that would save lives right now, and yet, they have yet to agree to make the changes. I've sat in these meetings for years and listened to the same arguments over and over and over with a mind-boggling resistance to change and forward progress from the industry. 

Since Meghan's death, I've become an expert on the subject of tip-overs and how to prevent them.  I've been advocating for over 14 years, literally since the day she died.  I want to raise awareness of the issue. I want to educate everyone, everywhere about this danger that exists in literally every single home. I want the tip-over epidemic to end.I want the ASTM furniture safety subcommittee and the CPSC to do absolutely everything in their power to make a robust, effective, and mandatory safety standard to protect kids (and adults).  Now. 

I realize that there are better solutions likely in the future, but we need to make changes now to make furniture safer and reduce the number of injuries and deaths.  We can always make the standard better, but doing nothing until the "perfect" solution is found is irresponsible and downright deadly. 

How do we stop this epidemic?
Education and Action. 

We need to educate people not only about the danger, and why it's a danger, but I want them to know how to prevent it.  I also want those in a position to reach the public, especially the most vulnerable populations, our children and our elderly, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, family practice doctors, geriatricians, independent and assisted living facilities, senior centers, emergency room staff, teachers, day care providers, social workers, churches, DCF, childbirth educators, postpartum and NICU staff, and retailers, to name a few, to actually do their part to educate those they serve about the dangers of tip-overs and how to prevent them. 

I also want to see those in a position of power to force change at a national and global level to do so. Now.  I'm looking at you ASTM, AHFA, every single furniture manufacturer out there, the CPSC, and members of Congress.  You are tasked with protecting consumers from these dangers and you should be ashamed.  You are failing.  Do you know why you are failing?  Because you are not listening to the people who are the experts on the other side.  The ones that have an honorary PhD in tip-overs.  The parents and grandparents who had to bury their children because of a tip-over, and those whose children survived a tip-over, but will never, ever, be the same as a result of their catastrophic injuries.  I'd like to remind you that you are not even hearing from the ones who had near-misses or minor injuries that were never reported.  

Instead of taking meaningful action, you are saying you care and it's important, but you are constantly delaying forward progress by hiding behind a dirty little four letter word.  DATA. 

Let's talk about data
Here's the thing. I understand the value of data. I'm actually a woman of science. Specifically of movement science. Surprised?  I'm not just some bereaved mother who is pissed off because a dresser you made, and that I thought was safe, fell and my child happened to be one of the unlucky ones killed by it. Though make no mistake, I am most definitely her. I am also a physical therapist who has worked with the very young and the very old. I understand child development and how children interact with their world. I understand the physics of how the human body works and how it can and cannot react at all ages when it interacts with other objects and the world around it. I'm also a runner and a ballroom dancer.  I get the physics of movement. I have the book knowledge and the practical knowledge from the human body side of things. I have worked in health care since I was 15 years old, and for those keeping score, that's 35 years.  I've also been a childbirth educator, a child and home safety instructor, a birth doula, and a CPR and first aid instructor.  I'm the mother of three. I know a hell of a lot about kids and keeping them safe.  I am intelligent, well-spoken, and quite frankly, I know more about tip-overs than I ever wanted to or should, and in a much broader sense than any of you that are on the industry or government side do.

I am also not alone.  We, the parents of the children who were victims of tip-overs, look at the data in a different way than you do.  Our children ARE your data.  For every one of those deaths, there is a pain and heartache I hope you never have to know.  Your data, our children, are not just numbers.  Tip-overs don't happen because parents were not doing their job.  It wasn't just a "fluke".  Tip-overs happen because the furniture is not inherently stable or made to withstand the forces of a child climbing, pulling, reaching, or pushing on it.  Clearly, the data you claim to be waiting for is nothing more than a shield for your pocketbooks.  If it's not, you have a hell of a lot of convincing to do. 

If 542 dead children in the past 17 years, and hundreds of thousands of injured ones are not enough "data" to motivate you to take meaningful action in a timely manner to create an effective safety standard, I'd like to know what the number of dead children you'd consider enough to take action is.   

Here's what you need to acknowledge and understand about data
And then apply it to the voluntary standard process, data collection and analysis, and the creation of a mandatory furniture safety standard.

By the CPSC's clear indication in their annual tip-over report, their reports of injuries and deaths due to tip-overs are ESTIMATES.  You all know why they are estimates, but since everyone in that room last week at the ASTM furniture safety subcommittee meeting who was not a consumer member seems to have forgotten, or perhaps just ignored, let me help you understand why the data you are claiming you need and are waiting for will never materialize.
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1. The NEISS problem.The vast majority of the data the CPSC gets on tip-over injuries and deaths comes from the NEISS hospitals. According to the CPSC, "NEISS injury data are gathered from the emergency departments (ED) of approximately 100 hospitals selected as a probability sample of all 5,000+ U.S. hospitals with emergency departments"  That's only 0.02% of the actual data from ER's that is definitively captured. And it's ONLY accounting for injuries severe enough to require an ER visit!  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to extrapolate that data and realize this problem is way more pervasive, and tip-overs are significantly more common, than the CPSC statistics indicate.
2. The cause of death problem. Information is also gathered from death certificates.  This is never going to be sufficient unless all medical examiners in the U.S. are required to not only report the medical cause of death, but the attributing factors.  For example, Meghan's death certificate states positional asphyxiation due to a fallen bureau.  I know of other tip-over deaths where the death certificate simply said "asphyxiation" or "blunt force trauma" with no documentation of the tip-over.  Those deaths would never be captured as being due to tip-over.  Medical examiners also don't always know what the contributing factors to the death were, either.
3. Non-ER visit data is not captured. The minor injuries that don't require or are not seen in an ER, but instead are seen a a pediatrician's office or urgent care center are not captured at all unless a rare and savvy doctor knows how and why to report it to the CPSC.  The vast majority do not.
4. Near misses (furniture that tipped, but the child was not injured) and minor injuries are not captured. The near misses and minor injuries that don't require any medical intervention at all are completely unknown, since there is no official record of them.  Other tip-over parents like myself know about them, because those parents tell us about them, and it happens a lot!
5. It's not easy to report a tip-over.  The average parent, consumer, physician/medical professional, or medical examiner has no idea Saferproducts.gov exists, or why.  They don't know how or why to report injuries due to a defective or unsafe product including tip-overs.  Even if they are informed about it, it's cumbersome and time consuming and many parents are fearful of talking to a government agency, especially because many parents whose children are injured or killed by a tip-over are investigated by the police and sometimes DCF.  They are treated like criminals because of the lack of awareness and sensitivity training out there as to the frequency and prevalence of tip-overs.  If you've gone through that, you are understandably skeptical and traumatized when it comes to talking to any other "agency" about the tip-over incident.  The CPSC needs to find a way to ensure everyone knows how and why to report hazards, injuries and deaths due to products sold in the U.S., to simplify the system and make it user friendly, and to make that widely publicized, easy to access, and encouraged, if not required, by every professional who interacts with children. 
6. Reports of tip-overs can happen years after the incident, due to the reasons outlined above, and many parents find out from other bereaved parents how and why to report their incident.  It's also important to realize that from the time an incident is reported and the time it is investigated and the report completed can also take many months if not years. And while you wait, every 17 minutes, another tip-over happens.  A tip-over that you could have prevented. A life that you could have saved. .
7. You'll never be able to get all the data you want about what the child was doing to cause the tip-over because the vast majority of the time, no one was in the room where the tip-over happened except for the child who was the victim.  For 99% of these injuries and deaths you'll never know exactly how that child was interacting with the furniture.  Assumptions can be made, but they are not facts. You'll never be able to know how many drawers were open, if the child was climbing, pulling, reaching, standing in a drawer, leaning on a drawer, or if they simply bumped into it while playing.  The answer is simply physics. So you need to stop asking for and waiting for that data, because you'll never get it and you already know that. The CPSC has told you this as recently as the May 10th meeting of this year. This is why we need to include testing with some and all drawers open, loaded with the things typically in drawers (clothes, toys) and to test with enough test weight to simulate the dynamic force of at least a 72 month old child climbing, pulling, or pushing on open drawers, and to account for the effect of carpet. 
8. Every single child that died because of a tip-over could have lived, and every single child that was not killed in a tip-over incident could have died.  Let that sink in. There was nothing special about any of these situations. Some call it luck, but you and I know it all comes down to physics, and every single situation was different. 
9. You will never know for sure how many times furniture you (the manufacturer) made has tipped over, and likely will never know about all of the injuries and deaths associated with your furniture falling.  So claiming you have no reports, or "only" one death (and seriously, if that "only" death was your child, how would you feel about me downplaying this topic in that manner), or a handful of minor injuries, is ignorant and dangerous. Why will you never know?  In addition to all the reasons I've already pointed out, consumers typically don't know who made their furniture. Nor do they care. They want it to be safe and they want it to be functional and aesthetically pleasing. They might remember where they purchased it, but they probably don't know who the manufacturer was, nor would they care until their child is injured or killed. Thus, you will never have accurate data on that, either.
10. Hiding behind the fact your costs will increase has to stop. We understand that changes to the safety standards can result in costly changes to your manufacturing processes.  We understand you are businesses and need to make a profit. We get that. But I can tell you that as a parent and a consumer, when we shop, we shop for furniture that is aesthetically pleasing, meets our needs, and is in our price range.  Whether I'm paying $100, $500, or $1000 for a dresser or other CSU, I'm going to pay a little more if it means I know it's been tested and passes a stringent safety test. In fact I might change my mind and choose your furniture instead BECAUSE I have proof that your furniture is compliant or goes above and beyond, what is required for safety.  So you can pass those costs onto the consumer at a reasonable dollar amount and absorb some of the cost for the greater good it will result in.
11. Complaining your competition will hurt your sales if you comply with the voluntary standard has to stop.  Victim consciousness (as in they won't play nice in the sandbox so why should we) has no place in adulting or in the development and enforcement of safety standards. It's immature, a cop-out, and cowardly. My violin is way too small for that. You do you. Don't worry about your competition. Do the right thing. Own it.  Be the change.  Lead the way. Do it in the ASTM meeting, do it for your constituents, do it because you want to be ethical and trusted by consumers. Do it to save lives and bring the number of injuries and deaths to zero. Do it because it's the right thing to do. You know how to do it.  You know how to market.  Market yourselves as the ones who do the right thing, who go above and beyond and put your money where your mouth is.  Prove it to us. Educate consumers about the tip-over epidemic and then explain what you have done to address it. Require retailers that sell your furniture to educate consumers as well. Don't mislead consumers. It will come back to haunt you. Trust me. 
12. No one is immune.  Even your friends and family.  I bet you all have every single piece of furniture in your home anchored, right? Why? Because you know it's not safe when it's freestanding right now. Until you are willing to allow a child you love freely interact with, climb, and play in a dresser/CSU or lie a child you love in front of any CSU/dresser and apply the current safety test to it, confident that it will remain upright un-anchored, the standard is not strong enough. Consider that. Tip-overs happen to the young and the old, to the wealthy and the poor, the highly educated and the poorly educated, in cities and in rural areas, in private homes and in public places, to people of all races and ethnic backgrounds, to people of all religious and spiritual beliefs, and to all genders. It could even happen to your family. NO. ONE. IS. IMMUNE.  
13. Tip-over is not a partisan issue.  I'm looking at you CPSC and Congress.  There is absolutely no reason every member of the CPSC and every member of Congress should not fully support the STURDY Act.  This is an issue that affects democrats, republicans and independents.  The only common denominator is unsafe furniture because there is no adequate or mandatory safety standard to prevent tip-overs of furniture.  We need the STURDY Act to protect consumers, especially the most vulnerable, our children.
14. YOU NEED US. Parent advocates and coalitions like Parents Against Tip-Overs and other consumer advocates are a rare breed.  For every one of us who are bereaved parent advocates, there are hundreds of others who are not comfortable sharing their stories and their pain publicly, or who can't because of their jobs or other reasons. That doesn't mean they don't exist and they don't want to see these changes any less than we do. We are here to represent them, too.  We are the voice of every person who has ever been the victim of a tip-over, whether it was a near miss, a minor injury, or resulted in a catastrophic injury or death.  We are connected to literally thousands of other parents who have had, or know someone who has experienced a furniture tip-over incident. We are experts, too, and we bring important perspective, insight, and ideas to the table.  You need us and we need you to end this epidemic.  We have to work together.  But waiting for some magical data, some magical number of injured or dead children that will make you finally have a sense of urgency about this will no longer be tolerated.  

It is my greatest wish that all members of the ASTM furniture safety sub-committee and the CPSC finally make a commitment to rapid and meaningful forward progress with this standard.  It needs to be a priority and it needs to happen now.  There is no reason we can't create and implement a stronger standard this year, with the two changes supported by the CPSC and Parents Against Tip-Overs, that being a change in the height to 27 inches and above and a change in the test weight to 60 lbs, and continue to change it for the better as additional testing (carpet, dynamic real world tests, open drawers, etc.) and innovative designs are created.  We have all the data we need right now to make a stronger standard. 

In the words of Nike, for the love of every child injured or killed by a fallen piece of furniture, JUST DO IT. You are out of excuses and frankly, out of time.  
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Updated 7/19/19

​My previous blog posts and landing page highlight the problems with the ASTM's subcommittee on furniture safety and the CPSC's reluctance to do their jobs in a timely and efficient manner to create a strong, effective, and mandatory furniture safety standard with regard to clothing storage units (dressers, wardrobes, etc.) in order to protect children from 100% preventable injuries and deaths. 

It's been nearly 20 years since the ASTM furniture safety subcommittee was founded, and over 14 years since Meghan died, and yet the statistics on the numbers of children injured and killed from tip-overs has changed very little.  This is despite there being a voluntary furniture safety standard in place, and one, that while it is stronger than it was when Meghan died (largely because of my and the advocacy of other parents), it is not yet strong enough to prevent tens of thousands of children from being injured every year and approximately 28 children being killed each year. The system for making meaningful changes to the standard drags on for years because of the industry's resistance.  It's resulting in needless injuries and deaths. It needs to change and it needs to change now.

Every 17 minutes someone in the U.S. is injured in a tip-over.  About every 10 days a child dies from those injuries.  From 2000-2017, 542 children lost their lives because of a tip-over, including my daughter, and hundreds of thousands have been injured, and those are only estimates based on what's actually reported to the CPSC. 

On April 10, 2019, the STURDY Act (Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable, Risky, Dressers on Youth Act, HR 2211, was introduced into the US House of Representatives by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of IL. You can read her press release here. I met last week with my Congressman James McGovern of MA, in early May, and he agreed to co-sponsor as well.  It currently has 20 co-sponsors (as of 7/19/19) and has made it through both the sub-committee and the full committee of energy and commerce and is on to the floor for a vote by the full house!  

On 6/19/19, the STURDY Act was introduced into the U.S. Senate by Sen. Robert Casey of PA, and currently has 3 co-sponsors. The bill number for the Senate STURDY Act bill is S 1902.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!  We need everyone to call their Representative and Senator(s), and ask them to sponsor and support the STURDY Act.  Here's what you need to know:

What will the STURDY Act do?

• It will require the CPSC to create a mandatory rule for free-standing clothing storage units to protect children from tip-overs
• It will cover all clothing storage units, even those under 30 inches (the current voluntary standard only covers units above 30 inches and children have died in tip-overs from shorter dressers)
• Require testing to simulate the weights of children up to 72 months of age
• Require testing measures to account for scenarios involving "real world" ways children interact with dressers including carpeting, loaded (not empty) drawers, and the dynamic force of a climbing child
• Mandate strong warning requirements 
• Require the CPSC to issue the mandatory standard within one year of enactment

Why do we need it?
Because after nearly 20 years, the ASTM furniture safety sub-committee, on which I sit, has been unable to make meaningful and timely progress on a voluntary standard that is adequate to protect children from tip-overs.  It's also only a voluntary standard, which means manufacturers choose whether or not they comply, and many do not.  This has resulted tens of thousands of preventable deaths and injuries every year.  We cannot rely on this process to protect our children. It did not protect my Meggie, nor the hundred thousand + injuries and/or deaths that have happened since she died. Quite frankly, the industry knows to to engineer tip-overs out of their products, they simply don't feel it's necessary and are putting profits ahead of protecting children. We need a better and faster way to force compliance with a mandatory standard that will protect children adequately,

Who supports this bill and how can you help?
On May 6, 2019, a letter about the tip-over epidemic and the STURDY Act, was sent to every member of Congress, and a press release entitled "Consumer and Medical Groups Applaud New Legislation to Prevent Furniture Tip-Overs" was also released to the media.  The consumer groups who are lending their full support to this legislation include the American Academy of Pediatrics, Kids In Danger, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, Public Citizen, and Parents Against Tip-Overs (PAT), of which I am a founding member.  

PAT is a group of parents who all lost their children to a tip-over incident.  Each of us has our own organization, like Meghan's Hope, but we felt that as a nationwide coalition, we'd have a louder voice, and indeed, that is what has happened.  Together with our partners in advocacy, we will manifest the changes we have been fighting for individually. We are in our infancy, but our advocacy has been loud, powerful, and effective.  We are fighting this fight so no other families ever know the pain we do.  

But we need your help.  You can join the chorus and advocate for safer and mandatory furniture safety standards, and now is the time. The most effective way you can help us make furniture safer and protect kids (beyond sharing the message of Meghan's Hope) is to contact your Representatives and Senators in Congress and tell them you'd like them to support the STURDY Act and why. It's quick and it's easy!  Here's how:

How to contact your Congressional Representative (it's quick and easy!)
You can help by contacting your Representative in Congress and asking them to support the STURDY Act, HR 2211 and your Senators to ask them to support S 1902, the Senate version of the STURDY Act.  Share Meghan's story, your own tip-over story, or just that you want Congress to take action to protect children from tip-over injuries and deaths. 

It's easy to do if you've never done it before.  Phone calls and in person meeting requests work best. Emails are okay, but they get thousands every week and it can take many weeks before they are even read and addressed. You can find your representative and senator(s) and how to contact them here. Once you know who they are, you can go to their individual Websites.  We recommend you call their D.C. office since that's where all legislative requests end up getting forwarded to. 

When you call:

• Ask the aide that answers the phone that you want your representative to co-sponsor the STURDY ACT, HR 2211 or your senator to co-sponsor or support the STURDY Act S 1902, and tell them why it's important to you (share a story of a friend, relative, or Meghan's story if you don't have a personal connection to a tip-over (read the info on the STURDY Act fact sheet). Provide your contact information in case they want to talk to you more about it! 
• Refer to the Press release of 5/6/19 (above) that they received the same day.
• Refer them to the STURDY Act fact sheet (link is also in the letter they received) for more information. You can use it as a guide for your call if you have a copy in front of you, but they will also have the same info if they click the link via their press release.
• If you feel comfortable/strongly about the issue, request an in-person meeting with them as well when they are in your home state.  It's great to have a personal connection and to be able to hand them a copy of these documents as well (print out the text of the bill, the fact sheet, and the press release to bring with you).  

Please share!
Lastly, I would love if you would share this information/blog post with friends, family, and social media contacts.  Consumer demand drives change and we need your help to save lives and put an end to the tip-over epidemic.  

Thank you. 

Fourteen Years.  It's been fourteen years since my beautiful Meggie died.  At the time, I really thought this was a fluke.  That she was the only one this ever happened to.  That if I could just get the attention of parents, stores that sell furniture, pediatricians, and the media to share it, she'd be the last child to die from a tip-over.

I was SO wrong.  I quickly learned she was not the first, or the only, and sadly she was not the last child to be killed by a falling dresser.  I was sure that if retailers knew of the dangers, they'd surely want to sell furniture anchors right next to the other childproofing supplies.  Turns out, most didn't.  And still don't.  Even today.  Even though they are sold online on their websites, they are not consistently found in the big box stores where most parents shop for childproofing supplies.  

I thought that anything sold and marketed for kids' use, including furniture, and especially juvenile furniture, like Meghan's was, was held to a safety standard of some kind.  We live in the United States. Someone must be making sure things sold in the U.S. are safe for consumers, right?  Isn't that why we have a Consumer Product Safety Commission?  Aren't there rules about safety with regard to manufacturing so kids don't choke, get lacerations, or killed by things like a dresser falling on them?  

It turns out that's just not the case. It wasn't then, and it really isn't now, either.  At least with regard to furniture tip-over.

It also turns out there WAS a voluntary furniture safety standard in place in 2004 when Meggie died, but it didn't protect her.  There is one in place today that is better than it was then, but still voluntary, and still not strong enough to prevent injuries and deaths to children (or adults for that matter)  Every 17 minutes someone is injured in a tip-over.  About every 10 days a child dies.  There have been 542 reported deaths due to tip-overs from 2000-2017, and yet there is still only a weak voluntary standard, meaning manufacturers don't have to comply, and many don't.  It's clearly not strong enough, because children are still dying and being injured.  You can read the entire report from the CPSC here.

I've come to learn that the CPSC is underfunded, bows to industry when it's mandate is to protect consumers, and seems to vote along party lines when consumers at risk come from all racial, ethnic, age, and political backgrounds.  I can assure you, furniture falls because it's unstable when a child is interacting with it.  It's not the child's fault, nor the parent's if a piece of furniture falls and injures or kills the child.  The child is doing what they developmentally are supposed to do.  The parent's, unless they throw the furniture onto their child deliberately, are either unaware of the danger, or are aware and falll prey to the "it can't happen to me because..." syndrome, which is all too common and potentially a deadly decision for their child. 

The CPSC is also under a "gag" order with regards to their ability to recall unsafe products, because it section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act.  This can also result in deadly consequences. The two most recent recalls this rule delayed recalls in and resulted in additional injuries and deaths that might have otherwise been prevented included the IKEA MALM dresser recall and the Fischer Price Rock n Play recall. 

The ASTM furniture safety sub-committee has had 19 years to make a strong and adequate furniture safety standard and to make it mandatory.  Yet they have not.  The standard has changed very little in that time, because the industry stonewalls and drags their feet, always asking for more "data", all the while tens of thousands of children are injured, some catastrophically, every year, and over 542 children have died.  That is their data, but it's apparently not enough.  To be fair, some manufacturers do comply with the voluntary standard, and they go above and beyond with their testing, but they are but a few of the hundreds if not thousands of manufacturers out there. 

We also know that the data reported to the CPSC is only estimated, because the vast majority of doctors and parents don't know how to or why they should report injuries from tip-overs to the CPSC, and the reports they do get are generally only from the 100 NEISS hospitals, medical examiners who know to put tip-over as related to cause of death on a death certificate, or savvy parents who do the research and find out how to report a tip-over to the CPSC or through saferproducts.gov.  I can tell you just from the interactions I have through social media and conversations about tip-overs with everyday people, near-misses and minor injuries happen way more often than what is reported in the official data, and even more severe injuries and some deaths have gone unreported. I'm sure there are more deaths that are also not captured for that reason. 

To attempt to circumvent the voluntary standards process, which is clearly too slow to make meaningful change that would save lives, advocates like myself have turned to our lawmakers for help.  We've had bills related to tip-over in Congress 3 times so far.  The Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act in 2005 and 2008 and the STURDY Act in 2016 and again introduced in April of 2019.  It is time to force a mandatory standard that will actually dictate how to manufacture more stable furniture (Clothing storage units) that is inherently more stable and by virtue of that, much less likely to tip when a child interacts with it. 

Stay tuned for more on the STURDY Act and how you can help! 

One of my greatest frustrations is trying to understand why some people choose not to anchor their furniture and TV's, even when they know the risk.  I've been advocating for anchoring furniture for 14 years now. I honestly thought by now, everyone would know, anchors would be widely available, furniture would be safer, and the statistics would show tip-overs were rare.  That is not the case. The numbers have not significantly changed at all.

The reality is the vast majority of Americans don't anchor their furniture and TV's, even if they are aware of the potential for tip-over.  A recent report published by Consumer Reports, "Furniture Anchors not an easy fix, as child tip-over deaths persist" highlights this frightening reality. 

Even after explaining the statistics that every 17 minutes someone is a victim of a tip-over, and that approximately every 10 days, a child dies from injuries due to a tip-over, and sharing my daughter's story, as I did in a blog post a few years ago that went viral, entitled Be With Me, Just for Today, far too many people, once they learn of the dangers of furniture and TV tip-over, convince themselves their children are not at risk.  

Are you one of them?

Common excuses include, "I'm always with my child", "My child is not a climber", "My child knows not to do that", "My furniture is too heavy to tip", "I don't want to (or can't) put holes in the walls or my furniture", "I don't have the right tools", "It's too expensive", "It takes too much time", "My (husband, parents, etc.) won't let me or doesn't think it's necessary", "It's not likely to happen, so why spend the money?", "It mostly happens to toddlers and my child is older than that now", or, "We have expensive, good furniture, it's safe."  Sound familiar?

Here's the thing, furniture is inherently NOT safe.  It's not manufactured to be safe, it's manufactured to be "pretty" and functional and sold for profit.  There are no mandatory safety standards, no required testing to determine if a dresser, bookshelf, or any other type of furniture is likely to tip-over, and no widespread availability of anti-tip restraints where most parents shop.  We think, because we live in the U.S., everything we buy must be safe, right?  Especially if it's for kids.  But that simply is not a guarantee. Especially for furniture.

Even if the awareness of the possibility of tip-over is there, there are false assumptions made by far too many parents and consumers that can lead to devastating injuries and death.  The only way to protect your child is to be pro-active about prevention.  The harsh reality is that neither manufacturers, retailers, nor the government, at this time, care whether or not your child lives or dies when it comes to furniture tip-over.  It's 100% up to you.  The point of the title of this post is that there is NO argument against anchoring furniture.  Right now, it's the only way to prevent a tip-over.

Some people are not motivated by statistics or words or even someone else's heart-wrenching story. Perhaps they are more visual.  Sometimes, pictures have a greater impact. Some people are moved by music, not words or pictures. I ask you to take 3 minutes to watch this video. Then, perhaps you will share this blog post with anyone who still does not understand the importance of anchoring furniture and TV's.  Who doesn't fully grasp the potential consequences. Who thinks it only happens to "someone else".  

I am that someone else.  I am just like you.  I'm a parent who loves her children.  Who thought I did all the right things to childproof my home.  Who thought buying furniture made for a nursery was safe.  You, or they, could just as easily be that someone else. If you don't anchor your furniture and TV's, the next statistic could be your child, or one you know and love.