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An Almost Accident and the Importance of Anchoring Furniture

Is the furniture in your home secure? I recently shared a number of baby-proofing solutions that help keep my home safer despite the curiosity that comes with two young children. In addition to covering electrical outlets and locking cabinets full of dangerous household products, I also made sure that no furniture could tip and crush my precious babies. And I will never be more grateful that I did than after a scary experience that I had the other morning.

After my daughter got up Thursday morning, I went into her room to set out her clothes for the day while she ate breakfast at the dining room table. I opened the two bottom drawers on her dresser to get the clothing out. Her pants are in the bottom drawer and her shirts are in the next drawer up. I first pulled out the bottom drawer, but, as I pulled out the next drawer to pick out a coordinating top and bottom, the dresser nearly tipped over on me!

Dresser Dresser with Bottom Drawers Open
Thank goodness for furniture wall mounts. Instead of falling over, the heavy dresser only tipped a bit before catching against the mount. I freaked out a bit as the dresser began tipping, images of my daughter or son crushed beneath. I shudder to think about the potential injuries – or death – that my precious babies could have sustained had my husband not already attached the dresser securely to a stud in the wall.

Even scarier than the dresser tipping over is that I frequently open both bottom drawers simultaneously while folding clean laundry. I usually fold the laundry in my bedroom and have my daughter put away her own clean clothes. Just a few days before, I had opened both drawers so that my daughter could put away all her clothes by herself. If not for the wall mount, my daughter could very easily have been crushed by her seemingly innocuous dresser. The newest safety rule in my house is that my daughter can open only one drawer at a time on her dresser.

I am a proponent of baby-proofing to the extreme. My almost accident highlights the importance of anchoring tippable furniture. If your furniture is not secure, seriously think about making your home safer today.

Dresser Wall Mount

For another story that illustrates the importance of anchoring furniture, check out The Tragedy That Almost Was from The Anti June Cleaver.

Image Credits

Dresser 2015 Heather Johnson
Dresser with Bottom Drawers Open 2015 Heather Johnson
Dresser Wall Mount 2015 Heather Johnson

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