TOPPLING TVs NOT TRIVIAL

Previous research indicates that television watching may be hazardous to a child's health by detrimentally influencing nutritional habits, restricting physical activity and encouraging violent behavior. But TVs may also harm youngsters even when they're turned off, according to an analysis of 183 children, ages seven and younger, who were hospitalized for injuries sustained when a television set toppled on them.

"The injuries reported are not trivial," concluded the study's authors. "Not only did they require hospitalization, but they also resulted in an in-hospital death rate comparable to the 2.5% rate observed in children of the same age group injured by unintentional blunt trauma, inclusive of motor vehicle traffic­related injuries."

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine ­ February 2001;155:145-8 http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/

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