Baby Home Safety - Flat Screen Tv Baby Safety Guide: Kayla's Accident - By: Julie Freeman

Kayla is lucky to be alive after a 30kg large screen TV crushed her little body. Kayla's accident is a warning to all parents with large televisions and small children. Learn the essential baby home safety tips for large screen TV's to keep your baby safe.

In the state of Victoria, Australia, (population 5,427,700) the rate of injury to children from falling TV's which resulted in hospitalization of the child, has risen from 37 in 2000 to 101 in 2009. Leg and foot injuries are among the most common injury to children under 5 years, followed by head, face and neck injuries, and unfortunately one child has died from a falling television.

Kayla's mother heard a loud crash come from the room where little 4 year old Kayla had been watching TV. The 30 kg large screen TV which had been sitting on top of a chest of drawers had fallen more than a metre onto Kayla's body with only her feet visible below the large television.

Kayla suffered a large cut to the side of her head and had blood coming out of her mouth,ear and nose and was also not breathing for a short period of time. Kayla's mother held her little girl as she thought she was dying.

In a critical condition, Kayla was taken to hospital, doctors were unsure if she would survive. Kayla's mother said "I never imagined in my wildest dreams a television could do so much damage." Neurosurgeons operated on Kayla's damaged brain lining and part of her skull was removed to allow room for her brain to swell. She was in an induced coma for 6 days hovering between life and death, with her mother at her side.

After Six weeks, Kayla is making a remarkable recovery with further surgery scheduled on her skull to replace the piece that was removed. Doctors hope she will make a full recovery but expect it will take a long time and she may be left with subtle deficits.

Kayla's story highlights the dangers of large screen TV's to little children, when babyproofing your home the television is often overlooked, but obviously as parents we need to include large screen TV's on our baby home safety checklist.

Baby home safety guide for large screen TV's: 7 steps you must know

Match the stand or cabinet to the size of the TV - it should have a wide, deep and sturdy base.

If you are not using a TV stand, place the TV as far back as possible on a low, stable surface.

Use wall brackets and straps to anchor the TV to a wall - A length of lightweigt chain is ideal to attach to the back of the TV and then anchor to a fixture on the wall, make sure the wall fixture e.g. a strong hook, is attached to a wall stud.

Keep TV cords behind the furniture where children cannot reach them.

Do not use TV cabinets with drawers immediately under the TV, as this is more likely to overturn when a loaded drawer is opened, your child may even use the drawer as a step for extra height.

Do not place the remote control and other items attractive to children on top of the TV where they may try to reach them.

Never place the TV on unstable furniture such as a chest of drawers, speakers or a trolly.

Source material for Kayla's(not real name)accident, Melbourne Herald Sun Newspaper, reporter M.Betts

About the Author

Julie Freeman is a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Microbiology with 25 years experience and mother of 2 children aged 5 and 2 years. To learn how to protect your baby in all situations, further baby home safety advice can be found conveniently in one complete baby safety guide at http://www.babyhealthsecrets.com/pregnancy-baby/babysafety/ http://www.babyhealthsecrets.com offers quality ebooks on pregnancy, baby care, new mothers advice and baby colic tips.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Julie-Freeman/85266

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