MILWAUKEE -- A Utah family is trying to raise awareness about the importance of safely securing furniture after a dresser toppled onto their twin toddlers.
"Bowdy just came around and assessed the situation," Kayli Shoff said.
Shoff is the mother of the twin boys. The video captured on her nanny cam shows how the two-year-old boys crawled into the drawers of a dresser. The dresser then fell over and pinned one the the boys to the floor.
"[Bowdy] tried to lift it up and that didn't work, then he just pushes with all his might and he pushed it right off his brother. I really believe in the twin bond. We always hear that and I really think these two have it," Shoff continued.
An incident like this happens more frequently than most people might think.
"It's an ongoing thing, it doesn't happen often, but once is enough," Carl Paulsen said.
Paulsen is the grandfather of a toddler and the owner of Baby Time Furniture & Accessories in West Allis. He said watching the video of the dresser topple on the twins sent his heart racing.
"I saw the heroics of a two-year-old saving his twin brother, I thought that was scary as well as impressive that a child would have that much wit about him to do what he did," Paulsen continued.
According to an expert with Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin, every 30 minutes across the country, tipped furniture or a falling TV sends an injured child to the emergency room. And on average, one child dies every two weeks when a TV or furniture falls onto him or her.
"Often times kids will climb because they'll want to get to whatever's on top of that dresser or that furniture that's a little bit taller," Lisa Klindt Simpson said.
To prevent this from happening, Klindt Simpson suggests anchoring down furniture and keeping things out of sight of young children so they're less likely to attempt a risky climb.
Anti-tip devices are also sold online and in-stores for prices ranging from $5 - $25. Consumers can visit their local home improvement, electronic or mass merchandise store to purchase anti-tip devices.
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