 Her legacy |
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Chloe has done it again
Erin Keiser, daughter Chloe
Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew
Assemblyman Nelson Albano
Juliet Fletcher
VINELAND— As Erin Keiser reaches to adjust the baubles on the Christmas tree she and her family recently decorated, she cups three little red ones. Across their metallic surface, she and the others have handwritten permanent-marker notes to her daughter, Chloe.
Almost exactly a year ago, Chloe, 18 months old, was killed when a television fell on top of her.
The tree Erin has dressed now sits near Chloe’s grave, a patch of festivity in a formal cemetery. “Standing here, this is the hardest thing,” Keiser says, breathing in sharply as she looks at the headstone. “Everything else I do, that’s how I hide. How I hide from this.”
That “everything else” is a time-consuming round of phone-calls – to manufacturers who make televisions and other large furniture, the outlets that sell them and, finally, the politicians she hoped might step in to warn other parents of such accidents that she says may be unexpected but are not in fact rare.
Just a week ago, she said she saw the December 17 anniversary of the accident ready to come and go without progress.
But an unexpected success Tuesday hung upon a politician’s difficult decision over what household accidents could be classed as preventable.
“It’s a fine line,” said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew. “You can’t legislate against every accident, I understand that -- and Erin does too, I think.”
But Keiser, who had called Assemblyman Nelson Albano in January, and had then run through the directories of elected officials, called Van Drew last week. By her own admission, she was despairing.
All she wanted, she said, was straps or L-shaped brackets offered with heavy furniture, and a warning label attached, telling of the dangers.
In the past year, she had seen similar moves in Pennsylvania stall.
“I called everyone under the sun,” she remembered. “Governor Corzine’s office said to me, “We’re very sorry, but we don’t get involved in that.’”
But Van Drew, an assemblyman for New Jersey’s first district and a state senator-elect, called her mid-morning Tuesday to tell her that he had weighed the idea, and decided there was a way to improve safety – without, as he put, imposing “overly burdensome” rules on outlets.
“We’re going to take it up with the office of legislative services, and look at putting it into a bill form.”
“I’m going to introduce it on the Senate side,” he said. “And I’ve spoken to my colleagues in the assembly, and feel optimistic they will support it.”
Keiser says that with a year gone by, one of the hardest tasks that she has put off has been to thank everyone who stepped in at the time of Chloe’s death, offering help with medical treatment, the funeral, and coping with the grief afterwards.
“They did more than I could have ever expected,” she said.
Now, she says, she feels that by keeping her focus, she has made a case for a change in the law. Eight other children have been killed nationwide in similar accidents since Chloe’s death, she said.
“It’s about common sense,” Van Drew stressed, adding that he had held off mandating installation or sale of the straps themselves, and would just stick to ensuring information be given.
Giving facts to consumers, he said, “is not overly onerous, and doesn’t eat into anyone’s profits.”
“I just think that’s worth it, for saving other lives.”
It’s what Keiser said she had got used to not hearing. “Christmas, for us, is always so hard,” she said. “This came just in time.”
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Little angels helping to protect others
Please click on the web address below to see how you can prevent the dangers in your own home and see such awesome children who have lost their little lives and see what and angel can do to make things safer in our world to protect the future of other little miracles.
http://emily-elizabeth-brammer-2004.memory-of.com/
http://shaine-burton.memory-of.com
http://www.katieeliselambert.org/index.shtml
http://masonlindley.memory-of.com/
http://www.meghanshope.org/cms/
http://www.thezoiefoundation.org/
http://www.goodbyes.org/keiser/index.htm
http://masonlindley.memory-of.com/
http://josephdemeo.tripod.com/
http://www.katieeliselambert.org/Natali.shtml
http://samantha-ventresca.memory-of.com/
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Chloe to Promote Bill HR 1861 Katie Elise & Meghan Agnis Act to keep kids safe
Look around your house and ask yourself is it safe for children to be in. Most people who have children will say yes it is. They have bought all types of safety products and installed them throughout their entire house. The outlets are covered, wires are tucked away, door knobs are covered, safety latch on the front and back door, lock on the refrigerator and stove, locks on all cabinets and drawers, and all poisons and medications are put in a high place and locked away. That does seem like everything was covered but there is something very important missing from that list. This is something that every house has in every room. These objects that are overlooked by so many adults can cause severe injury or even death. Have you figured out what the objects are yet? Here are a few hints: Each room has at least one. They come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. There are also many different kinds that have different purposes. Still having a hard time figuring out what the objects are. It is furniture and televisions. A list of the different types of furniture is: armoires, dressers, television stands and the televisions that go on the stands. Most parents have had the thought of furniture tip-over over go through their minds but do not take action to prevent it from happening. Some parents have even tested their furniture to see if it would tip-over and when it does not tip-over then they think that it is alright. However, the way that they are testing the furniture could be incorrect and the result of this could be terrible. Continue reading to find out about how many children have televisions in their rooms, what is ASTM International and what they have to do with furniture tip-over, Bill H.R. 2057, consumer product safety commission warnings, and ways to prevent furniture tip-over from happening.
Parents put all sorts of furniture in their child/children’s bedrooms. Armoires and dressers are the most popular because they are the most practical piece of furniture to have in the room. Armoires and dressers are what hold the clothes that are not hung in the closet. However, there is one item that seems to be creeping into every bedroom in the United States. This item is a television. Parents put televisions in their child/children’s bedrooms for many reasons. Either they do it to free up the television in the living room so they can watch it or it is an easy way to get some quite time after a hard, long day of work. It almost seems like a television is also a practical piece of furniture to have in a bedroom. A survey done from the Kaiser Family Foundation using 1,051 families with children age six months to six years and then follow-up focus groups with many of them found these findings:
One in three (33%) children this age has a TV in their bedroom (19% of children age 1 year or younger, 29% of children ages 2-3 years, and 43% of those ages 4-6 years). The most common reasons parents give for putting a TV in their child’s bedroom is to free up other TVs in the house so the parent or other family members can watch their own shows (55%), to keep the child occupied so the parent can do things around the house (39%), to help the child fall asleep (30%), and as a reward for good behavior (36%). As one mother who participated in a focus group in Irvine, CA said, “Media makes life easier. We’re all happier. He isn’t throwing tantrums. I can get some work done” (Arnst,).
Unfortunately this survey was not done to find out how many young children have televisions in their rooms that are unsafe. The results of this survey show how many houses have televisions in a young child’s room that could easily tip-over.
On September 12, 2006 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a warning about TV, large furniture tip-over dangers. Since 2000, more than 100 deaths were reported and most involved young children. They are warning parents and caregivers about the dangers of televisions and heavy furniture tipping over and killing young children. The number of TV tip-over deaths reported to CPSC during the first seven months of 2006 is twice the typical year’s average (CPSC,).
Nancy Nord, CPSC Acting Chairman, said “there are usually five deaths reported to CPSC each year caused by televisions tipping over onto young children, but we are aware of ten deaths already in 2006. We are issuing this warning so parents will take the necessary steps to prevent any more of these tragedies” (CPSC,).
What is ASTM International? ASTM stands for American Society for Testing and Materials. ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world-a trusted source for technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services (ASTM International, ). A couple of engineers and scientists formed this group over a century ago by working together to solve the problem of frequent rail breaks in the burgeoning railroad industry. As the century progressed and new industrial, governmental and environmental developments created new standardized requirements, ASTM answered the call with consensus standards that have made products and services safer, better and more cost-effective (ASTM International, ). ASTM has over 30,000 technical experts who represent producers, users, consumers, government and academia from over 100 countries.
Now that you know about ASTM International the question, what do they have to do with furniture tip-over can be answered? ASTM International President James Thomas met with U.S. Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) in July 2005 to discuss the efforts of ASTM Subcommittee F15.42 to help prevent injuries associated with furniture tip-over accidents. Thomas and Schwartz focused on proposals to revise and strengthen ASTM standard F 2057, Safety Specification for Chests, Door Chests and Dressers, as well as legislation authored by Schwartz that would set federal furniture safety guidelines (ASTM news, ). The revision to strengthen Specification F 2057 is to include armoires, entertainment centers and shelving units, clarification of the test methods, enhancement of the warning labels and the addition of a requirement to include restrainers to allow consumers to attach furniture to a wall (ASTM news,). However, F 2057 is a voluntary act. The manufacturers of furniture and electronics do not have to comply with anything that it says.
Since F 2057 is voluntary, Allyson Y. Schwartz is trying to get a Bill passed that would make it mandatory. The Bill that was presented to the House of Representatives in 2005 is called H. R. 1861 [109th]: Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act (GovTrack, ). This Bill is named after two little girls who passed away from falling furniture. Katie Elise Lambert was born on July 30, 2001 and passed away on January 21, 2005 when a lard wardrobe cabinet fell on top of her (KatieEliseLambert,). Meghan Agnes Beck was born on October 23, 2001 and passed away on December 18, 2004 when her dresser fell on top of her (Meghanshope, ). Unfortunately this Bill was denied in 2005 but Allyson Y. Schwartz and several families that have lost children to falling furniture are working hard to get this Bill passed. If the Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act is to ever be passed then it would require the manufacturers of furniture and electronic appliances to have warning labels and include safety straps such as angle-braces, anchors, or other anchoring devices with their products.
From 2000 to 2005, CPSC has reported of 26 TV tip-over-related deaths and 65 furniture tip-over deaths. More than 80 percent of all these deaths involved young children. Additionally, CPSC estimates that in 2005 at least 3,000 children younger than five were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms because of injuries associated with TV tip-overs (CPSC,).
How many more children have to die before something is done about it? They have laws against smoking in public places and smoking in your vehicle when there are children in it. They claim that these laws are to save lives but a bill to save children from falling furniture and appliances was denied. What is more important, cigarette smoke or the lives of every child in the world? Maybe Congress should ask themselves that question.
http://www.katieeliselambert.org/
http://www.meghanshope.org/cms/
By: Tiffany Muirheid
VINELAND — Erin Keiser believes her toddler was one small strap away from avoiding death.
It was the most unthinkable type of tragedy. Last December, she and her husband, John, woke up to a thud in one of their children's bedrooms.
She ran from her bed and was met by her two older children in the hallway. She still remembers what they said.
“Mommy, Chloe is under the television.”
Erin ran into the room and saw the hands and legs of her 18-month-old infant sticking out from under a 27-inch television.
She remembers throwing the set off with the help of her husband, running into the living room to call 911, running to a neighbor's house who knew CPR, and then being comforted by first responders who said there wasn't much hope for her daughter.
Police said one of the toddler's siblings let her out of her room by accident, and she must have tried to climb up the television stand to get something.
“It was secure on that stand for a year and a half,” John Keiser said. “I tried to fix it on there so all the weight was on the back.”
For the past two months the Keiser family has dealt with police and prosecutor investigations. Should the television have been on a more secure table? Were they criminally responsible for their infant's death?
Then, the Keisers found a network of support: people whose children suffered the same fate as their daughter — and a cause to make sure these kinds of accidents are prevented in the future.
The Keisers and at least two other families in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are asking for support of a bill that will be proposed in the next month or so by U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.
Known as the Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act, the measure was named after two children who died when a piece of furniture fell on top of them.
The act was introduced into last year's congressional session but died while in the Energy and Commerce Committee, said Aaron Brand, Schwartz's legislative aide. Schwartz plans to reintroduce the bill in a month or two, Brand said.
“I think we're hopeful that with Democrats in control of congress there could be some more action on this,” Brand said.
The bill would require that security straps be included with all furniture, allowing it to be mounted to a wall.
Erin Keiser said the bill could improve safety in countless homes.
“Everyone, even myself, thinks their house is safe,” she said. “But there's many things that are overlooked.”
John Keiser, who used to work moving and installing furniture for Raymour and Flanigan, said that barely anyone allowed him to put security straps on new purchases in their home.
“I look back on that, on how many people, including us, didn't use those straps, and it takes on a whole new meaning now,” he said.
In the meantime, Erin Keiser is lobbying local officials to support the bill once it's introduced.
“I'm not asking everyone to throw away their children's toys or furniture because it's not safe,” she said. “It's just one more way to prevent these kinds of tragedies.”
By: The Press of Atlantic City
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