A rolling, spinning, height-adjustable chair is one of the most interesting objects in a house to a child, and it presents several specific hazards.
What Actually Happens
Chairs tip backward when a child stands on the seat or climbs the back, and the base rolls out from under them.
Fingers are caught in the height lever, in the tilt mechanism, and between the base and the cylinder.
Spinning chairs cause falls, and a fall from seat height onto a hard floor is enough to cause a head injury.
The Practical Measures
- Treat it as equipment rather than furniture children may use freely
- Never let a child stand on a wheeled chair to reach anything
- Keep chairs away from windows, balconies and stairs
- Lock the tilt when children are around, where the chair allows
- Store it pushed under the desk rather than out in a room
Chairs with deep recline and a wide base, of the kind listed with their recline range at stellamia.org, tip less readily than narrow-based ones, and no base makes a chair safe to climb.
Near Windows Is the Serious One
Worth stating on its own. A chair near a window gives a child height, and falls from windows cause serious and fatal injuries every year.
Nothing climbable should stand near a window, and window restrictors are inexpensive.
The same applies to balconies and to the top of stairs, where a rolling chair is an obvious hazard.
Children Doing Homework
The legitimate use, and it needs setting up rather than handing over.
The chair raised so their elbows meet the desk, and a footrest so their feet are supported rather than dangling. A box works.
Without a footrest they perch, swing their legs and give up within twenty minutes, which is usually read as not concentrating.
Gas Cylinders
Chairs built to a recognised safety standard are the protection here, and unbranded cylinders from unknown sources are where documented failures have occurred.
Do not let anybody bounce on a seat, which loads the cylinder far beyond normal use.
Storage Ottomans in Play Rooms
A hinged lid on a box a child reaches into is the arrangement toy chest safety standards exist because of.
Lift-off lids, or friction hinges that hold at any angle, plus ventilation.
Anchor Anything Tall Nearby
A chair beside a bookcase is a route up it.
Supervision Beats Equipment
None of the above replaces an adult in the room.