Between 2000 and 2006, the most recent data available, 180 Americans died beneath fallen furniture, and 80 percent of the deaths involved children younger than 10, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Thousands more adults and children are injured by fallen furniture each year. The problem is so serious, that the CPSC ranks danger from tipping furniture and TVs among its top five hidden home hazards.

Each year, injuries suffered beneath fallen furniture and TVs send an average of 15,000 children younger than 18 to the emergency room, according to a recent study by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The injury rate has increased more than 40 percent in the 10-year study period. “This trend demonstrates the inadequacy of current prevention strategies and underscores the need for increased prevention efforts,” study senior author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy, has said.

So how do you ensure your flat-screen TV stays put — and your children stay safe? The experts at Sanus Systems, makers of furniture and mounts for TVs and other electronic accessories, offer some basic advice:

* Don’t Underestimate — The sleek, thin build of a flat-screen TV may lull you into a false sense of security about its overall size and heft. Keep in mind that these televisions can pack 100 pounds or more into their compact design. They need to be well secured with mounts specifically designed to hold them safely.

* Wall Mount Well — Wall mounting a flat screen has numerous advantages, including aesthetic appeal and keeping your expensive investment out of reach of little hands. When done properly with a high-quality device, mounting a flat screen on the wall is much safer than placing it atop furniture.

Look for a product, like Sanus’ VisionMount series, which incorporates a wall plate that secures into the studs behind the wall, and attaches to the TV with mounting brackets. All mounts within the Sanus offering lock securely to the wall and all are rated by Underwriters Laboratories, an independent organization that subjects products to rigorous safety testing.

* Stand Can Deliver — While wall mounting is the safest way to display your flat-screen TV, some situations might make it impossible to do so – if you’re renting with strict rules about what you can put on the walls, or simply don’t have enough open, secure wall space. If you must place a TV on furniture, keep in mind both the TV and the furniture piece tend to be top heavy. You should secure the top edge of the TV to the back of the furniture, and the furniture itself should be secured to the wall, following the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Still, the safest, most practical mode of displaying a flat-screen TV and all its components (DVR, video game, cable or satellite receiver, etc.) is to mount the TV on the wall and place the components beneath it on a piece of furniture specifically designed for that purpose. Sanus offers a full line of home theater furniture designed to hold all your home electronics.

To learn more about options for safely mounting your TV, visit www.Sanus.com.

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