A close call for a family in Utah may be the wake up call that households in Kansas City need.
On Thursday, 2-year-old twin brothers Bowdy and Brock Shoff were playing with a dresser when it tipped over on Brock. The whole incident was caught on video.
VIDEO: 2-year-old boy saves twin brother from fallen dresser
Bowdy rescued his twin brother. First, you see him try to help unsuccessfully for about 30 seconds. Then he pushes the dresser up long enough for Brock to wiggle out.
Now both boys are fine and the dresser is secure. Their mother Kayli Shoff released the dramatic video to raise awareness about the danger unsecured furniture poses to young children.
Story: Kansas City family still fighting to childproof homes eight years after their son died
"Everybody needs to bolt their dressers to the wall. I mean, we just didn't think about it. So, accidents are going to happen, so we just want to spread awareness to this one accident and hope that it doesn't happen to any other family," said Shoff.
It's a story that could've been much worse.
Back in 2007 in the Kansas City area, 2-year-old Charlie Horn was killed in a similar accident. That same year his parents formed his namesake, Charlie's House. The group talks about the need to secure furniture and even gives parents the kits to do so.
Related: How to prevent unstable furniture, appliances and electronics from killing children
"24,000 kids a year go to the emergency room due to tip overs. Roughly once every two weeks a child dies from a tip over," explained John McCarthy at Charlie's House.
The good news is, childproofing your furniture is pretty easy to do.
If your furniture has a hard back, use a stud finder on the wall. Once you find the stud, draw a small line on the wall just under the dresser's height. Drill a whole in the wall and then the dresser. Push the furniture against the wall and secure it with the lag bolt and lag bit. Depending on the size and the weight of the dresser, repeat one to three times in the corners.
If your furniture has a flimsy back, use an L bracket.
You can also use anchors and furniture straps that can be purchased for a few dollars at most hardware stores.
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Belinda Post can be reached at belinda.post@kshb.com.
