Mum’s tragic warning after toddler killed by television: ‘Read your manual – TVs can be lethal’

According to reports, Megan Cammilleri left her two-year-old daughter alone for 10 minutes as she happily watched SpongeBob SquarePants on television.

However, when Megan heard a loud crash and a scream, she rushed back into the room.

She found her daughter, Jasmine, lying on her back with the 37-inch LED television crushing her chest.

It soon became apparent that the tiny tot had clambered onto a cabinet and pulled the unsecured appliance down on top of herself.

Megan rang for an ambulance and her daughter was rushed to hospital.

Tragically, doctors could do nothing to save her, and she died that same day in February 2013.

Megan said that she had read the TV manual fully, but that she wasn’t made aware of the risks posed by the 15.8kg television.

Her daughter had, in fact, begun climbing on the cabinet a couple of months before the accident, but that she had pushed the television further inside as a precaution.

She added that she thought the television was "light weight" and did not realise the risk to her child's safety by not having it secured.

Speaking at the inquest, Megan emotionally warned parents to read their manuals properly - and insisted that people should be better educated on the potential risks.

She said: “If it's mentioned [that] straps or brackets are highly recommended, that would be a good thing…

“I just urge people to either put the TV on the wall or use the straps that you can purchase at the shops.

“You could say the TV itself is not particularly heavy, but if it gets your child in the wrong spot it can be lethal.”

Dr. Michael Cusimano, a professor of neurology, education and public health, explained to Today.com: "People have done the physics.

“The heaviest TVs falling a meter onto a small kids's head is equivalent to the child falling 10 stories. These can potentially be fatal injuries."

Scott Wolfson, communications director for the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, added: “Every 24 minutes a child is admitted to the emergency room because of a TV and/or a furniture tipover.

"It just takes five minutes to anchor TVs and furniture to the wall.

“The consequences of children playing and climbing on unstable, unanchored furniture are tragic."

So what can parents do to make sure that their kids are safe?