# Flat screen TVs, tipping hazard/safety?



## ellairiesmom (Mar 20, 2008)

We have an opportunity for a great deal on a 52" flat screen TV. The only place for it is in a corner of our living room & we really do not want to do any sort of wall mounting.

I prefer unfinished real wood/eco friendly furniture & found a great corner tv stand locally that is similar to this...
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-6604972..._2076_59109667

At 1st I thought it would be fine because the stand isn't very high-therefore, low center of gravity...& it is wide. There is no chance of the furniture actually tipping. But we don't know much about these newer lcd/plasma tvs & if they tip or have a danger of tipping easily? I do know it weighs 67 lbs & it has a small base connected to it.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3&type=product

I saw this in a previous thread here but it requires securing it to the wall which I don't think we would be able to do in the corner? And again-we didn't want to get into wall mounting.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...LAID=327246021

Anyone know about these newer tvs? WWYD?

The only pieces of furniture I could find that allow you to mount the TV to the stand have no cabinets or closed space & are also glass/metal & not at all our decor.


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## russsk (Aug 17, 2007)

Why wouldn't you be able to secure it to the wall? Ours came with a strap attached to the back that you screw into a stud in the wall. Just like for dressers. The tv doesn't have to be against the wall.


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## ellairiesmom (Mar 20, 2008)

Thx so much for your reply.

There were a few reasons we didn't want to go directly into the wall. For one, I didn't envision the TV being close enough to the wall to discreetly secure it, since it will be caddy cornered. And then I also thought it had to go into a stud & wondered how that would work in a corner? Where on the TV do you have an option to attach any "security" item. The back/middle...or the edge??? We also have 2 corners that are the 2 options for a TV in our living room & I like switching things up once in awhile.

But you mentioned your TV coming with a strap? How long of a strap is it that your tv doesn't have to be close to the wall? I don't think ours does but after I read your post, I googled "safety strap for flat screen tv" & got a bunch of hits. This example seemed like an option that would work better in our situation-these straps go from the tv to the actual stand you set the tv up on. I wonder if this would do the trick? It is geared for earthquake safety but mentions kids as well...

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-America-.../dp/B001132UEE

I think part of the problem is that I have no idea about these newer tvs, haven't really looked closely at the back of them & am not really picturing how to discreetly secure it to the wall without a big huge mount or piece.


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## babymommy2 (May 14, 2009)

You can buy brackets to hang the TV on the wall so that it is on an angle in the corner of the room. They exsist. We have a TV, about 2 years old on a low wide stand, it could have easily tipped and I was not comfortable leave my 1 year old alone with it, so we did mount it to the wall. I think there have been some death associated with TV's.


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## mama2004 (Nov 14, 2007)

I think that most flat screen tvs are pretty easy to secure and there are a number of options. There have been deaths and serious injuries from unsecured flat screens tipping over onto children, and I happen to have a second cousin whose 18 month old baby was killed when she pulled the flat screen down on to herself.

There are many ways to secure a tv, not so many ways to fix a toddler with a serious head injury.


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## boheime (Oct 25, 2005)

If it's low, what about blocking it off? We have a rear-projection flat front television downstairs in our family room that is about that size. It's really tempting to little ones. It's difficult to watch a movie as a family when someone is turning the television on and off or opening the DVD player. We have the television gated off.


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## JenBuckyfan (Nov 30, 2007)

We recently bought a 46" flat screen and just yesterday my DH mounted it on the wall and the tv fits perfectly in a corner of our living room. The mount we bought (made by Simplicity model SLF2 and bought at Costco) allows for 180 degrees of swivel, and tilts, extends 20 inches and can hold up to 130lbs. It looks really great, with the sound bar we bought to go underneath it, you can't tell it's mounted and or see any cords. The mount is in the studs on one wall and swiveled to be in the corner, above our tv stand that contains our dvd player and board games. The tv is incredibly secure. I wasn't sure if I'd like the tv mounted on the wall, but it's great.


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## ErikaS57 (Jul 15, 2008)

The base of our flatscreen screwed on to our TV stand, so it's on there pretty good. I can't tell if the Samsung has that?


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## mbm (Jun 14, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ErikaS57* 
The base of our flatscreen screwed on to our TV stand, so it's on there pretty good. I can't tell if the Samsung has that?

We also attached the TV base to the stand with screws, to guard against both curious babies and earthquakes. Our stand is just a cheap secondhand IKEA model, so we didn't mind drilling holes into the top.


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## OkiMom (Nov 21, 2007)

We bought a flat screen and within a week DD almost tipped the thing on top of her. DH went out that day bought wall mounts and mounted it to the wall. Flat screens are (from my experience) easily tipped and can be dangerous for young kids. My DH and I agreed that we would have it mounted above what she can reach until 1) she is old enough to understand not to touch and 2) shes old enough to stop it from falling on her if it does tip over (or at least get out of the way- I don't care either way as long as it means she doesn't get hurt)


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