Furniture tip-over kills children, and the mechanism is consistent enough to describe precisely. Anchoring prevents it and it is the step most often skipped.

How It Happens

A child opens the lower drawers of a chest, uses them as steps to reach something above, and the loaded unit comes over on top of them.

It happens in seconds, silently, and usually when nobody is in the room. The child is frequently reaching for a toy or a television that was placed on top.

This is not a rare freak accident. It is a recognised hazard that safety agencies campaign about.

What to Do

• Anchor every tall or drawered unit to the wall
• Use both straps supplied rather than one
• Fix into a timber stud where possible
• Use a proper cavity anchor in plasterboard, never a plastic plug
• Do it at assembly, not later when the unit is full
• Check the fixings once a year with a firm pull

Manufacturers supplying anti-tip hardware in the box, of the kind included at thexixini.com, provide the bracket; the wall fixing must suit the wall, and that part is on you.

A Plastic Plug in Plasterboard Holds Nothing

The most common anchoring failure, and it produces a false sense of security.

Plastic plugs are designed to expand against solid material. In a cavity there is nothing to expand against, and the plug pulls straight out under load.

Find a stud with a detector and fix into it, or use a fixing designed for cavities: a spring toggle, a metal self-drilling anchor or a hollow wall anchor.

Dot-and-Dab Catches People Out

Plasterboard stuck to masonry with adhesive dabs leaves a gap of an inch or so behind the board.

A screw into the board alone holds nothing. A longer screw and plug reaching the masonry works, provided the plug sits in the masonry rather than in the gap.

Remove the Reason to Climb

The complement to anchoring. Children climb to reach things they want.

Nothing attractive on top of tall furniture. No television on a chest of drawers, since falling televisions are a recognised cause of serious injury. Heavy items in the lowest drawers.

Do Not Open Several Drawers at Once

Several loaded drawers open moves the centre of gravity forward dramatically, which is the state in which an unanchored chest goes over.

Check Before Drilling

Cables and pipes run vertically and horizontally from sockets and switches. A detector costs little.

Rented Homes Too

Most landlords will agree to a small fixing for a stated safety reason, and two filled holes at the end of a tenancy cost almost nothing.