Parents are always concerned with their child's safety, which is why watching for recalls is so important. Recalls are issued when there is a risk for injury or death to consumers who use certain products.

Target recalls dressers

After receiving 12 reports of dressers sold at Target tipping over or collapsing, two of whom were three years old, Target issued a recall. No injuries have been reported, and hopefully, by following recall instructions, none will.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission asks consumers to return the dressers to the store for a refund. Their website states: "The recalled dressers are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in death or injuries to children."

Target reports 175,000 of these dressers were sold in the U.S. with an additional 3,000 sold in Canada.

Safety first

With any piece of furniture, especially ones a child might climb on and that could tip over, using safety precautions such as anchoring the furniture to a wall is necessary.

Anchor It! states that a child is injured every 30 minutes from a television or other furniture tipping over, and every two weeks a child is killed by furniture landing on top of them. Most frequently, these injuries are head injuries.

Yet we can prevent these injuries by taking five minutes to properly secure furniture to a nearby wall. Follow manufacturers' instructions, purchase anti-tip devices and always make sure furniture is sturdy enough for what you're using it for - i.e. only place televisions on tables or stands designed to hold a television.

Other precautions

Children love to climb, but we can minimize the temptation to climb on unsafe furniture or heights by not placing objects the child would want on top of shelves or dressers. Keep toys, books and other items in more easily accessible places. For other items you do want to keep out of reach, use cupboards with safety latches, or store them on secure surfaces out of reach.

Also, teach children not to climb on furniture. Warn them that they could become trapped or injured. Granted, you can't teach very young children this, but you can work to help them understand. As they get older, it's still important to teach them not to climb on furniture.

There are many dangers in the home - burns while cooking, drowning in the bathtub, fire, etc. But most of these are preventable. Keep pot handles turned inward and out of reach of tiny hands, never leave a young child alone in the tub and install smoke and carbon dioxide detectors in the home. Properly securing anchors to furniture is the best way to prevent furniture from tipping onto children and injuring or killing your child. Don't risk your child's safety; take the small amount of time necessary to make your home safer.