Stuff I Love: TV Safety Straps

November 11, 7:35 AMChild Safety ExaminerSusan Carney

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Every parent has their own personal safety fears for their children. There are some issues that worry you or freak you out more than others. For me, one of those is falling televisions. Every once in awhile, you hear tragic news stories of toddlers killed or severely injured by falling television sets. I have to be honest: before I had kids, it never would have occurred to me that this could even happen. But now, everywhere I take my kids, I am hyper aware of the televisions and whether or not they are secured. Though my kids know not to climb on entertainment centers, and they are forbidden to even touch our TV at home, I still want that extra peace of mind.

Now, we have a plasma TV attached to a base that screws right into the top of our entertainment center. But prior, in the days of the box TV, I was surprised that I couldn’t find anything to address this hazard in my local big box baby store. After hunting around on the internet for awhile, I was absolutely thrilled to find TV Safety Straps, which, it appears, are used frequently and for other types of furniture in earthquake prone areas (well, duh!)

These straps work great. Each end of the strap (there are two straps, one for each side of the TV, and depending on the weight of your TV, you might want to get two sets) has some amazingly sticky adhesive on it that you press into place (one end on the TV, one end on the surface the TV sits on) and let set overnight. Then you clamp the two ends together and tighten. Easy peasy.

I highly recommend these straps not only for television sets, but for computer monitors or any other large item that could be pulled off of a table or desk and injure a child. They are inexpensive, easy to use, and work great. If your television is not secure, please check them out.