Children are naturally curious and like to feel the world through touch and try. This allows them to grow faster, but it also poses potential dangers for them.
Relevant child safety agencies have released data that 60% of child injuries occur at home, and most of the child injuries that occur at home are related to furniture.
Some time ago, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau conducted a spot check on children's furniture sold in shopping malls and online trading platforms, and 19 batches of unqualified furniture were tested, which made us feel very sad.
First, the edge and tip problems
In this random inspection, more problems were found to be the edge and tip of children's furniture. Children running around the house will inevitably bump and bump, and if they hit the sharp corners or edges of the furniture, the consequences will be unimaginable.
A casual search on the Internet shows that there are many examples of children who have been injured by bumping into sharp corners, and some serious ones have stitches.
Therefore, when choosing children's furniture, we must pay attention to the edge and tip problems. The standard stipulates that children's furniture under one meter and six positions, the outer corners that children can touch should be rounded or chamfered, and the radius of the circle (≥ 10 mm) or the length of the inverting arc (≥ 15 mm) need to meet the requirements.
When parents buy children's furniture, they can measure it with a ruler.
Second, the problem of furniture porosity
Every year, there will be news of various children's fingers being stuck.
Children are curious and like to stick their fingers into holes and crevices. If the material of the pores of children's furniture is rigid, it is easy to get stuck, and because the rigid material is more difficult to destroy, it is easy to cause bruising if stuck for a long time, and it is easy to be injured when forcibly pulled out.
But in fact, this is avoidable. Children's homes have clear requirements, and holes and gaps in rigid materials with a depth of more than 10 mm should be ≥ 12 mm (about the thickness of a small thumb of an adult) to ensure that children's fingers can enter and exit freely. Or the porosity < 6 mm (slightly thinner than a 2B pencil) so small that the finger can't reach in.
▲ We tested the gaps in a children's furniture with cylinders with diameters of 6 mm and 12 mm respectively, and found that they did not meet the standard
Parents can check the pores of the furniture in the home, deal with it in time, and pay more attention when buying children's furniture.
Third, the risk of dumping
I don't know if you remember the "deadly chest of drawers" incident. Because the cabinet did not have a connector that could be fixed to the wall, many children in the United States died from the overturning of the chest of drawers.
However, 3 years after such a tragedy, some furniture manufacturers still do not pay attention to these problems, there are still children's furniture center of gravity or outside, and do not have anti-dumping devices and other problems (some stores will only provide when asked), hidden dangers still exist.
Therefore, if there is a table, cabinet and other children's furniture in the home that is higher than 600 mm, it is necessary to install connectors that can be fixed to the wall.
If the merchant does not provide it, he can tell him that the national mandatory standard stipulates that the merchant "needs to provide a connector that can be fixed to the wall, and the installation and use method is clearly defined in the instructions for use."
Fourth, the lack of warning signs
Many children's furniture has folding, lifting and other functions, if you do not pay attention to the use of it, the child's hand is likely to be pinched. The national standard also stipulates: if the product has a folding or adjustment device, it should be marked in the appropriate position of the product "Warning!" Beware of pinch wounds" warning.
But some manufacturers do not care, still go their own way. Although this is somewhat insignificant for adults, for young children, a small logo is likely to avoid potential harm.
Parents still need to pay attention when purchasing, and if necessary, they can also post a sticker warning.
Fifth, formaldehyde risk
In the children's homes randomly inspected by the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau, there is one risk that should be particularly careful, that is, the risk of formaldehyde.
In 19 batches, there were 5 batches of formaldehyde release that were unqualified!
Although the damage of formaldehyde in a short period of time is not as intuitive as the above damage. But we can't ignore the threat of this class of carcinogens, nor can we predict when it will change from quantitative to qualitative, not to mention that children's resistance is lower than that of adults.
Therefore, when choosing children's furniture, the formaldehyde problem cannot be ignored at the beginning.
At the time of purchase, parents can ask the merchant to provide a test report to see if the merchant complies with the "formaldehyde release limit value of 0.124 mg/m³ in interior decoration materials wood-based panels and their products, and the limit mark E1" specified in GB 18580.
However, the indoor formaldehyde release source is often not only a single piece of furniture, formaldehyde will also accumulate indoors, so before moving in, it is still recommended that you measure formaldehyde.
Sixth, the risk of lead in the surface coating
In children's furniture, lead is also a noteworthy risk factor.
Many merchants will make the colors of children's furniture colorful and gorgeous in order to cater to the market. However, if the quality of the paint used is not up to standard, there will be heavy metal problems. Children love to touch, easy to make the heavy metal in the paint film migrate to the hands, and ingest the heavy metal into the body when biting the finger or eating.
If the blood lead in children is too high, it can have an impact on intelligence.
▲ Information from the World Health Organization on the hazards of lead
Parents still need to be vigilant when purchasing these colorful children's furniture, and require merchants to provide complete test reports to avoid the threat of lead.
Regarding the problems and suggestions of this children's furniture, we have also made a summary for everyone, and you can press and hold for a long time:
Well, this issue of science is here. Don't forget to check yourself after reading it, and remember to avoid pitfalls when buying children's furniture!
Hope to help everyone~