Jason Fitzpatrick
Televisions are thinner than ever before and it’s incredibly easy to tip them over compared to their massive glass-tube forebearers. Save yourself a costly repair bill (be it for the TV or your kid’s teeth) with some very inexpensive safety straps.
Historically, it was pretty difficult for small children to knock TVs over on themselves because big tube TVs weighed so much it often took two grown adults to move them. Now, however, television sets are thinner than paperback books and the lack of a broad heavy base (combined with small legs or single central pedestal stands) makes it easier than ever for TVs to topple over—and the injury statistics reflect that.
Between 1990 and 2011, for example, the rate of children injured by falling televisions rose 125% across the board with a 344% increase in injuries from TVs falling off dressers and armoires. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissions estimates that there are ~11,800 emergency room visits related to TV accidents per year and between 2000 and 2015 there were 315 reported fatalities—the majority of which involved children.
Security straps for your TV are dirt cheap. ER visits and brand new TVs are not.
Even if you don’t have children to worry about it’s just way too easy to knock over a super thin (and super expensive) modern TV. So whether your motivation is child safety or simply keeping your roommates or energetic dog from destroying your beautiful new 4K TV, we recommend fending off injuries and shattered screen with some simple safety straps.
Based on some straight forward criteria like sturdy construction, use of metal brackets and buckles (instead of plastic), included hardware (bolts for the VESA mounting holes on the back your TV as well as screws to secure the strap tail to the TV stand or wall), the TV and Furniture Anti-Tip Straps from Jesse Leona ($16) are our top pick. (If you want to think about the cost using TV math, a pack of these straps is 1/100th or less the cost of a new premium 4K TV. What a bargain!)
Using the straps you can secure your TV directly to the stand, to the wall behind the stand, and, in cases where you’re particularly worried about your acrobatic kids scaling the stand, you can order two sets and secure both the dresser and the TV for extra protection.
Regardless of whether you use straps for just the TV or for both the TV and the stand, however, the key is to ensure the bolts are snug in the TV and any screws are inserted deeply and firmly into furniture and/or wall studs. If you fancy yourself very safety conscious but not particular handy, enlist the help of a friend who knows their way around a toolbox and stud finder to ensure your straps are as secure as they should be.
Images courtesy of Jesse Leona.
