Consumer Reports: Prevent TV and furniture tip-overs

Consumer Reports: Prevent TV and furniture tip-overs Thousands of children are injured every year in tip-over incidents involving TVs and furniture. Consumer Reports explains how to make your home safer. Advertisement Updated: 6:21 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Mallory Anderson Anchor/Reporter By Consumer Reports Consumer Reports: Prevent TV and furniture tip-overs Thousands of children are injured every year in tip-over incidents involving TVs and furniture. Consumer Reports explains how to make your home safer. Updated: 6:21 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Mallory Anderson Anchor/Reporter By Consumer Reports MILWAUKEE — Tragedy at a Florida elementary school this month: A young student died after an interactive display board, similar to a flat-screen TV, fell on him in his classroom. This event is still being investigated, but thousands of children are injured every year in tip-over incidents involving TVs and furniture. Consumer Reports safety experts have advice on how to avoid a tragedy like this in your own home. Thousands of children are rushed to the emergency department each year after furniture, an appliance, or television falls on them. Advertisement "Tip-overs can happen when a child tries to climb, pull, or attempts to move furniture, large appliances, or televisions that are either unstable or not properly anchored to the wall," said Gabe Knight, a Consumer Reports Safety Advocate. TV mounts are sold according to the maximum weight and screen size. Just because two mounts can handle the same-size television, don’t assume they’re rated for the same weight; that can differ by brand. For maximum security, CR says to secure your TV mount to wall studs . Along with the risk of a TV being improperly mounted to a wall, putting a TV on top of a dresser or bookshelf is never safe without properly installed safety anchors, for both the TV and the piece of furniture it’s sitting on. While testing anchor kits in its lab, Consumer Reports experts used a special machine to see how much force each kit could handle before breaking or detaching from the wall. "Our tests found that, in general, metal or nylon strap components drilled into wall studs performed best," Knight said. It’s also important to choose an anchor designed for the specific wall and stud material in your home. Simple Mount Furniture Anti-Tip Kit performed best in CR’s test on wooden studs behind drywall. If you have metal studs, CR recommends QuakeHOLD! Furniture Securing Straps . Both products cost less than $15, a small price for peace of mind. CR recommends calling a professional to anchor into trickier surfaces, such as exposed brick or concrete walls. For step-by-step instructions on anchoring furniture, watch the video from Consumer Reports below. CR did not test TV mounts but recommends choosing one that’s been certified to the UL 2442 standard, meaning it has been tested for structural strength and load capacity. ConsumerReports.org has more information on how to protect your family from furniture tip-overs. Boy, 5, killed after video board falls on him at Florida school Consumer Reports no longer recommending e-scooters Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Stacy Keach, star of stage and 'Mike Hammer' series, dies at 85 Video shows small plane clipping pickup truck while landing on busy Florida road Ole Miss student apologizes after video showing women making racist gestures sparks backlash Democrats will now control more states. Could that mean an effective end to the Electoral College?