WATCHING television is becoming more dangerous for young children, but not
because of the programmes. Carla DiScala from the New England Medical Center in
Boston found that American toddlers are now twice as likely to be injured by
falling TVs as they were five years ago. She reviewed paediatric records from
1995 to 1999 and found that 183 children younger than 7 years of age who were
admitted to hospital after TV sets fell on them. Five of them died (Archives
of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol 155, p 145). DiScala says that
as large-screen sets, which can weigh up to 80 kilograms, become more popular,
TVs are getting proportionally heavier at the front and so less stable. Simple
changes to the design could reduce the risk of injury, she says.
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