DiFiore, Consumer Reports highlight TV safety

YONKERS Apparently parents aren't securely tucking away the old sets.

So what do you need to look out for?

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and the publishers of Consumer Reports staged a demonstration of a child being crushed by a tipping TV and dresser to highlight the continuing problem of children being injured or killed by toppling tvs and furniture.

Last year, a 2-year-old was killed in a home in Hastings and, in 2008, a 4-year-old died in an apartment in Yonkers. Nationwide, there have been nearly 100 children killed since 2000.

Experts recommend taking the following steps to endure your child's safety:

Place TVs on sturdy furniture designed to hold televisions.

Anchor furniture with brackets, screws or braces.

Avoid placing TVs on dressers, as kids often use drawers to climb.

Make sure the TV does not hang over an edge.

Keep cords out of reach.

Keep toys and remotes away from the top of TV set.

If you think the move to lighter, flat screen TVs has made things safer, think again. The number of incidents has continued to rise.

Consumer Reports will soon start airing safety videos in stores selling Tvs. Also, manufacturers will voluntarily ship wall anchors with furniture. But it will be up to people to use them, because failure to do so can have devastating results.