TVs killing toddlers - does GMTV need banning?

[JamesA]

I hate GMTV.
Every poorly reported scare story ends up with a discussion between me and the wife.

The latest is on the story of a TV falling and killing a toddler.
From what I can gather, most of these stories are TVs on a chest of drawers and the toddler has pulled the chest of drawers over.

We have one of those glass TV stands with the 3 glass shelves and metal legs.
Our LCD TV seems stable and could be put towards the back of the stand.

Is this safe?
With my plasterboard walls I don't fancy putting the TV up on a bracket.
I think that would be worse.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

James, i too find the reporting of this incident in particular annoying. The details of how this happened appear to be so vague and i cannot understand how it could happen. The article i read said that the child had 'touched' the tv and it fell on her. I 'touched' our TV last night and......it didn't move. Whats more, we have an LCD TV and i cannot understand how it would be heavy enough to kill a 2yr old child, unless it was a very large TV or was on an unusally high stand (or like you say, a chest of drawers). I can understand it wouldn't do them much good and isn't advisable but surely there must be more to this than it simply fell on her??

I feel that our house, including our TV is fairly 'child-proof' and i don't think that highlighting these incidents without properly explaining what happened does anything other than just causing extra worry and panic (probably unnecessarily) for parents everywhere.

 

[Steve]

I dont watch GMTV, cant stand it.

I feel BBC1 Breakfast is aimed at men and businesspeople, whereas GMTV is aimed at housewives and women and gay men.


The way to secure an LCD screen in a high place? If it has a plastic stand (most do), put a screw through the back of it. Then it cant fall forwards and kill anyone or (heaven forbid) break.

Most self assembly furniture isn't particularly stable and I would have reservations about putting a TV on top especially given the floors in this house aren't particularly solid. When I walk across the dining room all the glasses in the cupboard clink. Vibration could cause things to fall off.

 

[Stivino]

The TV accident happened not far from me and my daughter knows the family. I too read that she'd "touched" the TV and it fell on her. None of it really adds up to me. What kind of people have houses where things fall over when touched, and how did she become so badly hurt by a telly? How and how heavy was this telly?

 

[Steve]

To add to this, IMO LCD screens are no more likely to fall forward than old CRTs, which were always front-heavy.

 

[JamesA]

The TV has some places at the back for attaching brackets.
I think I may just put some decent plugs into the wall and fix it with picture wire or something.

GMTV

 

[Steve]

And now I think on, my newest Toshiba LCD screen had straps attached underneath the stand to fix to the wall. They slide out from under the back of it.

 

[Mike2007]

There was a nasty story before Christmas. Dad had treated everyone to a flat screen TV to watch the Xmas programs on.
On getting shot of the old heavy chunky TV he was taking it downstairs, slipped only to drop the whole weight of it on his young daughters head! She had been laid out played at the bottom of the stairs.

Obvious outcome!