Mounted Television a risk to child safety

[bullabulla]

I was at a friend's place where a monster 50" was mounted on a wall! It was installed 2 years back and he has a child under 5 years who is active and some times plays beneath the TV space

Given the different strength of walls, and any-DIY contractor installing them, i am worried for the safety of the child

As there is no regular check on the installation and with time - Any engineering issues might make the wall give away the mount

am i paranoid or guys do you think - Mounted Tv's are a risk to children?

[PrincessPerky]

depends on the wall, the mount (and 'mounter) and the likely hood of a kid climbing on them.

[Caoineag]

It depends. If this monster is bolted to studs, then absolutely not. If its hanging on drywall, then I suspect it will fall and make beautiful glass shards. I still don't know that the kid is going to manage to be under it the exact time that it falls but if I had a 50" TV, I would be worried about the cost of replacing the TV if and when it falls. (I have watched a total gym thingy fall on a kid before and it did no damage so I have great faith in children surviving most falling items. Especially since I have had a 3 foot icicle drop on my own head as a child).

[Broken Arrow]

Yes, they something like that should never be installed only on dry wall.

[FrugalFish]

I agree, if properly installed, it should not be a problem- however, I suspect a lot are not properly installed. When we moved into this house, the OTR microwave was installed through drywall only- wow, I'm surprised it didn't topple from the wall at some point. We probably would not have known this if not for the fact that the previous owners "stole" the microwave and didn't bother to rehang it when their agent threated them. DH had to modify the mounting plate in order for it to be bolted into the studs, and knowing him, he bought bigger bolts to do the job.

You post title reminded me of our little 20 inch (old fashioned) TV that is in our master bedroom. It use to sit on top of a high dresser and one night we had a 7.4 earthquake come rumbling in around 2am. DH had to get out of bed and brace the TV so it wouldn't fall on the poor dog who slept next to the dresser. The next day we went out and bought earthquake straps for the TV and attached it to the wall. There are lots of things that can be issues, depending on where you live. Considering that I grew up in earthquake country, and have been through quite a few, you'd think I'd know better. It's easy to overlook that sort of thing until it's too late and the worst happens.

[MonkeyMama]

I have to say it doesn't really sound any more dangerous than any large TV. TVs are a child safety issue. We have a really heavy (older) TV and has always made me nervous. I don't think we ever figured a way to brace it, but I feel much better about it now that the kids are older. (IT sits low to the ground, but doesn't take much to seriously harm a small child. I've heard too many stories).

Likewise, we have a 50" today that weighs about 1/4 as much. Those things aren't necessarily that heavy. I think personally older TVs are far more dangerous.

But yeah, it is one reason I am not a fan of the wall mounted TVs - while we have small kids. Just looks scarier hanging in the middle of the wall. I would sure make sure it was put in securely.

FrugalFish - We secure all our big furniture to the walls, but never really heard of TV earthquake straps. Probably a good idea!

[kilcher]

I wouldn't think it'd be much of an issue. Sadly I think most people are more worried about their $2000 TV falling and breaking than they are about something falling on their child.

[Brokemofo]

I'd be worried about a Hotwheel or G.I. Joe flying through the air, hitting it, and breaking the glass if it's a plasma. Oh, and hopefully no child is underneath when it happens.

[cschin4]

When my kids were little, the TV was a concern. I took copper wire and wrapped around the screws on the back of the TV and then wrapped the wire to wall mounted screws or to the back of the TV cabinet.
As for the Wall TVs, I would be that most people do not know how to properly mount them. And, I really don't want my TV on the wall. Drywall just doesn't hold things and sometimes it isn't so easy to find a stud or there isn't one where you actually want to place the TV.
However, the new TVs are much lighter and I think less likely to really injure a child.

[noppenbd]

Having mounted my TV, I can tell you that it is really not that difficult to do properly. It basically consists of finding a couple of studs, which any handyman worth his salt can do. The wallmount I bought had many sets of mounting holes, as well as a sliding plate for the TV, so the studs did not even have to be directly behind the center of the TV. Personally I think the safety aspect has been drummed up mostly by places like Best Buy and Circuit City, who make nothing on the TV, but capture all their profit off of "valued-added" services like expensive (unnecessary) cables, extended warranties (ripoff) and installation.

[Gruntina]

Though it can happen with a flat screen tv not properly set to the wall, I would not only point the finger to the flat screen. Anything in a house can be hazardous to a child if not properly put in place or keeping an eye out.

That does not mean to over worry that everything is going to hurt the child but just keep an eye out.

[cicy33]

I can tell you from experience the most dangerous place to put a tv. On a dresser. we had one in our boys room, thought nothing of it. It was a small tv, I believe a 13 or 19 inch. One of the boys at about the age of 5 opened a drawer and when he shut it, remember, he is a boy! the tv fell off the dresser and landed on him! fortunately he was not hurt but we never did it again. TVs in our house are either on stands or entertainment centers. This is something we would never have imagined happening. We thought it was perfectly safe. It wasn't too big for the dresser.

[mom-from-missouri]

TV?? How about a stove.
A friend of mine kept her cookies and snacks in the (high up) cabinet above the stove. Her 4 year old (who was on the hefty side), opened the oven, pulled out a rack and climbed onto the oven door, then the oven rack, then the top of the stove to reach up and get the cookies. He got them fine, but managed to tip the stove over on his climb down. The oven door shut and broke both his legs. This was 30 years ago, and her stove is still fastened to the wall years later, and in a new house. I believe her refrig is also secured to the wall. WHY? because this son now has sons, and the grandsons are climbers just like their dad...

[cicy33]

Totally understandable. but at least there was a reason! he was climbing it. Mine just opened and shut a drawer to hard. He didn't mean to.

[myrdale]

When he installed it, he should have bolted it directly to the studs behind the wall. I do not think just attaching it to the dry wall would be a very bright idea.

As far as a danger to the child? Yes you want the house to be safe, but I heard this story one time: "Little Johnny's (or whoever) parents had a TV stand with.... you guessed it, a TV on top. One day Johnny managed to pull the TV off of the stand and it fell on him and was hurt badly. Needless to say, he didn't do that again.

Now if you had said the TV was mounted over the kids bed there would be reason for concern, but kids are tough and need to get hurt from time to time. That way they learn what not to do. I personally would be more concerned for the televisions safety.