The Consumer Product Safety Commission stepped up its outreach efforts today by joining the
blogosphere and the
Twitter universe, opening a
channel on YouTube and creating a
photo stream on Flickr.
"These are terrific tools that I plan to use frequently to keep you up to date on what's happening on issues that affect you directly," wrote Chairman
Inez Tenenbaum in her first blog post. "These sites are for the moms, dads, grandparents and others who want to protect themselves, their homes and those they care about."
One of the agency's first efforts is
a video highlighting the dangers of furniture tipover, an issue
we've written about in the past.
In the video,
The Tipping Point, a mother in Connecticut talks about the heartbreak of losing her daughter when the toddler was crushed by a television that had fallen off its stand. "You may think your home is safe, but everyday things like a television can hurt your child. I was right there and it happened," said Sylvia Santiago, of West Haven, Connecticut who lost her two-year old daughter last year.
"The most devastating injuries that we see resulting from furniture tipping on children are injuries to the brain and when a child is trapped under a heavy piece of furniture and suffocates," said Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who was featured in the video. (Smith is one of our
Safety Crusaders.)
To help prevent tip-over hazards, the CPSC offered the following advice:
- Furniture should be stable on its own.
- For added security, anchor chests or dressers, TV stands, bookcases and entertainment units to the floor or attach them to a wall.
- Place TVs on a sturdy, low-rise base. Avoid flimsy shelves.
- Push the TV as far back as possible.
- Place electrical cords out of a child's reach, and teach kids not to play with them.
- Keep remote controls and other attractive items off the TV stand so kids won't be tempted to grab for them and risk knocking the TV over.
- Make sure free-standing ranges and stoves are installed with anti-tip brackets.
We're pleased to see the CPSC offering these tools to consumers, including a handy "Recall Widget" that other bloggers and Web sites can use to track recalls.
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