Falling Furniture: A Very Real Home Hazard

by Daniel Sean Kaye

furniture_may_blog.jpg class=righthand width=250 height=220 The season finale of “Desperate Housewives” introduced a parent’s nightmare – a child innocently climbs a bookshelf for a favorite doll, only to have the massive piece of furniture come down upon her, tragically ending her life.

This is not an isolated occurrence. It can happen in just about any home . Bob and Judy Lambert are friends of mine whose 4-year-old daughter, Katie Elise, died when a large wardrobe cabinet–that wasn’t secured to the wall–fell on her. The Lambert’s started a non-profit Web site to help others prevent similar accidents.

Please secure your bookshelves, TV stands, entertainment centers, and other large furniture items.  Preventing accidents in your home means being proactive in providing a safe environment. Kits to secure large pieces of furniture to the wall are readily available in baby product stores and from Online retailers such as Amazon.com. When installing these devices make sure to carefully follow the directions and test them afterwards to ensure they are doing their jobs. Dedicating a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon to this home safety project may save a lot of heartache in the future.

May 28, 2008

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