Rou

So, there is an increasing push in the "I don't feel like being a responsible parent"™ section of society. They want a new warning label. This year’s target? Televisions.

Brain cancer? Obese children? Bad vision? An addiction to anime? Spending habits from the home shopping network? A desire to scrape your ears out if that 'Cops' song comes on again?

Nay.

They want a warning label to warn people that the TV could fall on them causing potential for injury and possibly DEATH.

I’m boggled. Honestly.

Gravity causes items to fall. The heavier and higher it is, the more potential for damage there is. This is simple physics. Most children grasp the concept to a lesser extent around the time they learn to walk.

So, what prompted this concern? Well, bad parents of course. Though I’m sure they’re looking to pass the buck. Take our first contestant.

A 4 year old girl was killed when a 27 inch TV fell off a rolling stand, crushing her. Somehow, I’m going to make two bets. First, the TV manual says to place it on a sturdy support base. Second, the rolling stand has a warning not to place objects over a certain weight and dimensions on it. Now, you see what the parent did there? Improper usage. Ding Ding Ding!

Number two involved yet another rolling cart. This time a 3 year old boy was killed trying to reach the VCR on top of the TV. Shock, and surprise, this situation failed the same damn way as the last one. Imagine that.

In March, a 2 year old was killed when a 36 inch TV fell off a dresser. Have you seen a 36 inch TV? They don’t just tip over and fall unless they’re perched pretty close to the edge. And I dunno about your dresser, but I don’t think I could balance anything near a 36 inch TV on mine.

Ok, so what we have is improper usage resulting in deaths that are tragic, preventable and the result of poor planning by the parental types. Some stats for you, the National Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that approximately six children are killed by falling televisions in the United States every year. Six whole kids. That certainly requires nationwide legislation immediately.

They want warning labels. They want manufacturers to be forced to put in wall attachments to prevent these deaths. And they want the money from the law suit and the ability to blame someone else for their child's death.

Let’s be fair here, the problem is that we can’t attach a warning label to gravity. It happens, but there just isn’t a place for that label. Likewise parental stupidity seems to be missing that attachment point. I wouldn’t mind attaching a label of some sort to parental responsibility, but it seems to be harder and harder to find these days.