Emmy Award-winning consumer advocate Elisabeth Leamy offers easy steps you can take today to reduce potential home hazards.

When we buy furniture, we look for style and comfort, but once it’s in our homes, it’s important to consider safety, too, especially with kids around. That’s where National Furniture Safety Week (October 6-10, 2025) comes in. Sponsored by Alliance4Safety, the annual campaign was created to raise awareness of key precautions every family should take to ensure a safer home. After all, we spend hours relaxing on our favorite furniture, so it makes sense to spend a few minutes on furniture safety. Here’s what you need to know:

Check dates on furniture used to store clothing.

Check the manufacture date on the back of furniture used to store clothing, including dressers, chests and armoires. Beginning in September 2023, those pieces had to meet a strict new stability standard, which is extra important if there are children or elderly people in your home. The stability standard came about because the Consumer Product Safety Commission says thousands of children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year due to furniture tip-overs. In fact, these accidents killed nearly 200 children between 2000 and 2023.

Secure furniture used to store clothing.

New or old, if it has shelves, doors or drawers, you need to anchor it to the wall. Period. Kids are often tempted to climb things like bureaus and bookcases – and even small, lightweight furniture can fall over. Chests as short as 27 inches have toppled and killed children, so never assume a piece is too short or sturdy to tip. Even the more stable clothing storage furniture made after September 2023 should be anchored to the wall for maximum safety. Manufacturers include free anchors with new furniture for this purpose. Use them!

To secure furniture that you already own, you can find furniture anchors at hardware or home improvement stores. These anchors are inexpensive and easy to install. You don’t even need a drill– you can use a hammer and nail to make holes for the anchors.

If you’re not sure what type of anchor to purchase, go to www.AnchorIt.gov, where you’ll find advice on the right kind of anchor for your walls and step-by-step instructions plus a video demonstrating how to install them.

IMPORTANT: Some plastic furniture anchors made in Vietnam and included with furniture manufactured prior to November 2019 have been recalled, because they can become brittle and break. To see if you have one of these recalled anchors, go to Alliance4Safety.org, where you can order replacements at no charge.

Furniture anchors are the most important strategy to avoid tip-overs, but there are easy additional steps you can take:

• Store heavier items down low so taller pieces are not top-heavy.
• Don’t put toys or treats on top of furniture where kids can see but not reach them, which might tempt them to climb.

Wall-mount or secure TVs on a sturdy base.

For flat screen TVs, the safest strategy is proper wall-mounting according to the manufacturer instructions. This is the best choice if you have small children at home or kids who visit frequently. Just be sure to purchase a wall-mount kit that is adequate to hold the size and weight of your television.

If you cannot wall-mount your TV, choose a low, sturdy cabinet and secure the TV to the wall or to the furniture with a TV anchor. TV anchors are different from furniture tip restraints. These specialized TV anchors feature nylon straps or steel cables that connect to the back of your television, then attach to the wall or to the furniture itself. Most importantly, never place TVs on furniture that was not built to hold electronics.

Buy upholstered furniture made with certified foam.

We all want our homes to be safe and healthy. By now you have probably heard of the tiny-but-mighty nonprofit that has certified the polyurethane foam used in mattresses for more than 17 years. But did you know that the CertiPUR-US^® program also certifies the foam used in upholstered furniture?

That means if you choose upholstered furniture that is made with CertiPUR-US certified foam you will know the foam has been screened for chemicals that can harm human health or contribute to poor indoor air quality. We’re talking about things like formaldehyde, ozone depleters, carcinogenic flame retardants, mercury, lead and other heavy metals plus phthalates regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CertiPUR-US even conducts random verification inspections to make sure participating foam producers continue to comply with the group’s rigorous standards.

Whether you are shopping for mattresses, pillows, sofas and sectionals, upholstered chairs and recliners, youth furniture and play cushions or even pet beds, you can check the CertiPUR-US directory to see if the manufacturer or retailer sells products containing certified foam. Better yet, consult the CertiPUR-US mobile app while you are out shopping and get instant answers. It’s available on both the Apple App and Google Play stores. Unfortunately, there are companies that have been known to use the CertiPUR-US logo without permission or verification, which is why it’s important to confirm that a company currently participates in the program.

Monitor your children around recliners and lift chairs.

Reclining furniture is fabulous for adults and fascinating to children, especially if it has power features. Unfortunately, these coveted seats can also cause unanticipated hazards. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on children and pets in rooms with reclining furniture. Don’t let kids play on recliners or fiddle with the buttons or remotes for power features. The most common recliner injury is pinched limbs or fingers that occur when closing the footrest. That’s why we should all get in the habit of returning recliners to the upright and closed position when not in use. Less common but more troubling are incidents in which toddlers climbed under a lift chair or recliner while an adult was seated and were injured or even killed when the footrest was lowered. Again, the best practice is to know the whereabouts of small children and pets before closing a recliner or lowering a lift chair.

Follow bunk bed safety precautions.

Bunk beds are a blast – and a space saver. If you don’t have them at home, you might find them in a vacation rental. But keep this strict safety advice in mind: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says children under 6 should never use the top bunk, because half of all bunk bed-related injuries occur to children under 6 according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Even older kids should be reminded not to jump from or play on the top bunk. Discourage horse play and make sure the bunk’s ladder or stair is securely fastened.

You will also want to make sure that any bunk bed is manufactured to meet current safety standards, which may mean skipping hand-me-downs or yard-sale finds. Bunk beds must have railings on both sides of the top bunk that extend 5 inches or more above the mattress. In addition, decorative finials or extensions of bed posts on the top bunk are not allowed under current safety standards, because they can be a strangulation hazard. Bunk beds must display a specific warning label that is visible to the user (usually placed on the bottom of the top bunk). In addition to the manufacturer contact information, this label provides instructions on the proper size and thickness of the mattress for that specific bunk.

Be aware of glass tabletop risks.

Believe it or not, 2.5 million people – most commonly children under 7 and adults in their early 20s – injure themselves on broken glass tabletops each year. First, here’s the simple common sense: don’t let children play on or around glass-top tables and never, ever stand on a glass-top table for any reason. Now here’s the key safety precaution you may not know: Make sure glass table tops in your home are made from tempered glass. Tempered glass is stronger and safer than non-tempered or “sheet” glass. and less likely to break. If it does break, it shatters into small pieces rather than dangerous, jagged shards.

To find out if a glass tabletop in your home is tempered, check the edge or a corner. Most manufacturers mark tempered glass with the word “tempered” or a “T” or even stamp it with the code for the glass safety standard, which is ASTM F2813-18. Not finding a label? Grab a pair of polarized sunglasses! If the glass is tempered, when you look at it through the sunglasses, you will see a distinctive grid pattern on it that does not appear on regular glass. Tempered glass is even more important for outdoor glass tables because exposure to extreme temperatures and damaging weather can cause glass to shatter.

Use caution buying used furniture.

Second-hand furniture is great if you’re on a budget. But there are certain precautions and categories you should be aware of to make safe choices when buying used. 

Painted Furniture: If it was produced before 1978, the finish could contain dangerous levels of lead. That’s the year the U.S. government banned lead paint. Lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes brain damage, especially in children, because their brains are still developing. If you have children at home, you should avoid old, painted furniture altogether. Yes, chipped paint can have a vintage vibe, but small children tend to put things like paint chips in their mouths. Plus the lead dust produced by old painted surfaces is a hidden hazard. If there are no children in your home, you can still take the precaution of testing older, painted furniture for lead. Lead test kits are available in home improvement stores.

Old Cribs: Crib safety standards change frequently, so it’s best to avoid used cribs altogether. Because babies and toddlers are so vulnerable, the government and industry monitor crib safety closely and make changes as they learn more. Many older cribs pose a strangulation hazard—for multiple reasons—ranging from slats that are too far apart, to decorative cutouts, babies can get stuck in to mattresses that fit too loosely and corner posts that could snag a baby’s clothing. In addition, many cribs used to have “drop sides” that slid down to make it easier to lift babies out, but those also posed a strangulation and suffocation hazard.

Upholstered Furniture: From 1975 through 2013, manufacturers were forced to use flame retardant chemicals in upholstered furniture because of a misguided California flammability standard. In 2013, California changed its flammability standard in a way that allowed manufacturers to stop using these toxic chemicals, and most did so nationwide to avoid having to produce two different versions of their furniture. In June 2021, the federal government made it official, changing its own flammability standard to align with the updated California one. This means that—depending on your comfort level—it’s a good idea not to buy secondhand upholstered furniture made before 2021—or at least before 2013. New upholstered furniture containing CertiPUR-US certified foam is available at many different price points and is a choice you can feel good about.

Cedar Chests: They look lovely, but old cedar chests are another hazard around children. In fact, the CPSCrecalled 12 million cedar chests manufactured between 1912 and 1987, because the latches lock automatically when the top is closed. Children playing in these chests were getting trapped inside and suffocating. If you inherit or buy an old cedar chest, the practical solution is to remove the latching mechanism. 

Keep in mind that even relatively modern furniture sometimes gets recalled. In 2016, Ikea voluntarily recalled millions of chests and dressers because they were a tip-over hazard if not anchored to the wall. So no matter what type of secondhand furniture you’re considering, it’s a good idea to check for recalls at SaferProducts.gov. 

There are many safety standards that apply to today’s home furnishings. But it’s still possible for non-compliant products to find their way into consumers’ homes. Knowing what’s required –along with additional precautions you can take to prevent accidents – will help ensure your home sweet home is a safer home.

Find more tips at SaferHome.Info.