Furniture Safety Week spotlights five hidden home hazards

Alliance4Safety is marking the first full week of October as Furniture Safety Week to push families to check for five common home dangers before the holiday season. The campaign highlights furniture tip-overs, bunk bed risks, recliner pinch points, glass-top table injuries and unsecured TVs.

Why it matters: - Furniture-related accidents cause thousands of injuries in homes every year. - The campaign aims to help families reduce preventable injuries before holiday gatherings and year-round. - Children face the highest risk from several of the hazards highlighted in the safety push.

What happened: - Alliance4Safety designated the first full week in October as Furniture Safety Week. - The effort is meant to help homeowners identify hidden hazards before the busy holiday season. - Patricia Bowling, an Alliance4Safety spokesperson, said October is a good month for a quick home safety audit. - Bowling said raising awareness of hidden hazards can make holidays safer and help prevent accidents year-round, especially those involving children.

The details: - Furniture tip-over accidents killed more than 100 children ages 1 to 3 from 2013 to 2023. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says thousands of additional children are injured each year when furniture tips over and falls on them. - Even lighter and shorter furniture can tip if it is not anchored to a wall. - Homeowners can reduce tip-over risk by anchoring furniture with drawers or shelves that children may try to climb. - Heavy items should be stored in bottom drawers. - Remote controls, toys and other tempting items should stay off the top of TVs and furniture where children can see but not reach them. - Bunk beds are a space-saving option for smaller bedrooms, but the top bunk is not intended for small children. - More than half of bunk bed-related injuries involve children under age 6. - Federal bunk bed standards require precise top-rail measurements, no finials or post extensions on the top bunk, and a warning label that lists the exact mattress size for both bunks. - Recliners can pinch fingers and limbs in folding footrests and moving parts. - Children and pets should stay in view when a recliner is being closed, especially motorized models. - Several toddlers were killed in recent years after climbing under a recliner and getting caught in the closing mechanism. - Caregivers with toddlers or crawling babies should consider unplugging power furniture when it is not in use. - Glass-top tables can be dangerous for children and adults if they do not use tempered glass. - An estimated 2.5 million people, many of them children under age 7, are injured by broken glass-top tables every year. - Tempered glass is stronger than non-tempered glass and breaks into small pieces instead of jagged shards. - Unsecured televisions remain a major cause of tragic home accidents. - From 2013 to 2023, 90 children were killed when a TV or the furniture supporting it tipped over and fell on them, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. - TVs in homes with small children should be wall-mounted when possible. - TVs that cannot be wall-mounted should sit on a low, sturdy cabinet and be secured to the wall or furniture with a TV anchor, Bowling said. - Bowling said TVs should never be placed on furniture not built to hold electronics.

Between the lines: - The safety push centers on hazards that many families overlook because the furniture looks ordinary and stable. - The emphasis on anchoring, placement and warning labels suggests many of these injuries are preventable with basic setup changes. - The campaign also reflects a broader shift toward treating everyday furnishings as active safety risks in homes with young children.

What's next: - Families can find more TV and furniture anchoring tips, including how-to videos, at AnchorIt.gov. - More home safety guidance is available at Alliance4Safety.org. - The Furniture Safety Week message is aimed at prompting home safety checks before the holiday season and throughout the year.

The bottom line: - A few low-cost changes, especially anchoring furniture and securing TVs, can prevent some of the most serious home injuries to children.