On the heels of the death of a Salina child, a safety campaign is launching.

Back on January 21st, a 2-year-old child was killed in Salina after an older-model television fell on her. Officers and medics were called to an apartment after a mother heard the sound of a TV crashing down in a bedroom where her daughter was playing. The little girl was transported to Salina Regional Health Center where she was pronounced dead.

According to Safe Kids Kansas, every 45 minutes in the United States, a child is rushed to the emergency room for injuries caused by televisions that are not appropriately secured.

To help prevent these TV tip-overs, the organization is launching National TV Safety Day this Saturday, the day before Super Bowl XLVIII. As families prepare for one of the most watched events of the year, National TV Safety Day raises awareness about TV tip-overs and educates parents and caregivers on the simple things they can do to make their homes safer.

Safe Kids Kansas recommends these top tips to help keep kids safe in communities and improve the environment:

1. Secure your TV. If you have an older CRT TV, make sure you place it on a low, stable piece of furniture that is appropriate for the TV’s size and weight.

2. Recycle your TV. To find a location to safely and easily recycle unwanted TVs, go to www.GreenerGadgets.org.

3. If you’re replacing your CRT TV with a new TV, be sure it’s properly secured.

As part of the effort, parents and caregivers are urged to do quick checks of their homes and make sure all of their TVs are safely secured and placed properly. Larger and heavier cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs placed on dressers or high furniture can tip over and cause serious injuries, even death, if children climb onto the furniture.

Safe Kids encourages families to include TV safety as part of their childproofing plans by placing CRT TVs on low, stable pieces of furniture. If families no longer use their CRT TV, consider recycling it. For families with flat panel televisions, Safe Kids recommends mounting TVs to the wall to reduce the risk of TV tip-overs.

“Every 3 weeks a child dies from a television tipping over,” said Cherie Sage, Safe Kids Kansas coordinator. “We don’t want any parent to have to endure the loss of a child due to a TV tip-over. National TV Safety Day is a time for families to conduct a quick TV safety check and learn what to do with older TVs that can be dangerous for young kids.”

For more TV safety tips, visit www.safekids.org.