SAN ANTONIO – Furniture that tips over is a deadly danger inside many homes, and a new law will change how new furniture is manufactured and tested.
Daniel Brong and his 2-year-old daughter, Zoey, got a big scare when they tidied her room just after Christmas.
“Zoey started opening up the drawers. When she had opened two of those little drawers on the top, the dresser came down right on her foot, and I was like, ‘Oh no,’” Brong said.
The dresser crushed two of Zoey’s toes, nearly severing them. Doctors were able to reattach her toes, and she is continuing to recover.
The danger isn’t new.
In the last 20 years, falling furniture or TVs have killed hundreds of young children. Thousands more have been hurt. The majority of the deaths involve children younger than 6.
A new law, the STURDY (Stop Tip-overs of Risky Dressers in Youth) Act, aims to prevent more tragedies. It requires all dressers and similar products made or sold in the U.S., including those less than 30 inches tall, to meet minimum safety standards regarding sturdiness and strength testing.
The STURDY Act was years in the making, with consumer groups and parents pressing hard for its passage.
“Fifteen years since I lost my son, Charlie, to a tip-over, and this problem has gone on way too long, " said Brett Horn, board chair with Parents Against Tip-overs. “I think we’ve really established a law here that’s going to protect children for many, many, years going forward.”
Consumer Reports advocated for the new law and reminds parents that even with these new protections, it is still strongly recommended that all furniture be properly anchored to the walls -- no matter the height, weight, and manufacturing date of the product.
Surveys have shown most people do not anchor their furniture.
“To say that I’m thankful that it tipped over, I’m not, but I learned a lot from it. I’ve secured four other dressers in our house to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Brong said.
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