In an average year, nine children, usually younger than 5, are killed when household furniture tips onto them, and an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people, mostly children, are hurt.

ASTM International has a tip-over standard for chests, armoires, and dressers, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has one for TV stands (see Ratings). However, those standards are voluntary, and many manufacturers, including those whose products we tested for this report, don’t even claim to meet them. Our tests revealed that furniture often doesn’t meet the standards and that they’re inadequate in any case.

We tested dressers, armoires, bookcases, and TV stands in two ways: against applicable standards and then while using the furniture the way you might--with drawers full of clothes and fully opened, and with carpeting underneath, for example. Most of the tested furniture is typical of that found in children’s rooms and is sold through retailers that include BabyDepot.com, www.BurlingtonCoatFactory.com, www.Ikea.com, www.JCPenney.com, www.Kidkraft.com, www.PotteryBarnKids.com, www.Sears.com, www.Target.com, and www.Walmart.com.

Test results. One dresser failed the ASTM test, another broke, and others passed but tipped when drawers were opened all the way (farther than the two-thirds required by ASTM). Several armoires failed the ASTM test. One TV stand failed the UL test even when empty. The Ratings chart provides specifics.

What you can do. If you have young children in the house, the safest measure is to anchor any potentially unstable furniture to a wall with tip-over straps or restraints, and keep heavy objects off of dressers.

Because glass in furniture poses its own hazards (every year, more than 15,000 visits to emergency rooms are prompted by injuries from glass furniture), ask for furniture with safety glass, which is less hazardous than standard glass when it breaks.

TIP-OVER STANDARDS ASTM tip-over standard: chests, armoires, and dressers The empty unit can’t tip when any doors are open and all drawers are open two-thirds of the way or to the stop, whichever is less. It also can’t tip when one drawer is open two-thirds of the way (or door is opened fully) and a 50-pound load is applied to the center front of each drawer. Tip-stability section of Underwriters Laboratories standard: carts and stands for A/V equipment The unit can’t tip when holding a load that simulates a television set (using the largest TV size specified by the manufacturer) and placed on a plane inclined 10 degrees from horizontal.