Parents warned about TVs
2- year-old boy injured after set fell on head Unsafe set-ups blamed for 100 injuries a year
Parents are being urged to properly place their televisions on a stable surface after a 2- year- old boy was injured at his Scarborough home when a TV fell on his head.
Bradley McIntyre was taken to hospital Sunday night in critical condition.
His mother Jennifer told CTV News that the 27- inch television set, weighing about 40 kilograms, was sitting on top of a dresser in the family’s home near Warden Ave. and St. Clair Ave. E. She said she thinks he tried to climb the dresser when it fell over on him.
Last February, Kayla Benjamin- Johnson died after a 36- kilogram TV fell on her head at her family’s North York apartment. About 100 people are injured in Canada every year due to unsafe television set-ups, according to the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program. But that number could be higher, says the president of the Canada Safety Council.
“ It’s hard to get a very good database on this thing,” Emile Therien said in a phone interview from Ottawa. “ It’s not always reported, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that these things happen.”
Unstable TV sets are often caused by faulty television stands, Therien said, adding it’s very important to purchase a television stand built for the particular weight and size of the system.
“ A very good stand is absolutely critical,” he said. “ In most cases, people should buy the stand that comes with that television set.”
Therien added that parental supervision is important in making sure children are safe around large objects.
“Kids are very curious. . . . What you’ve got to do is make sure there’s parental supervision, but this isn’t always possible.”
There are no regulations for manufacturers, he said, adding the public should be aware of the risks surrounding unsafe television placement, such as on dressers or other unstable objects.