2-Year-Old Boy Rescues Twin Brother After Dresser Falls On Him

CHICAGO (CBS) – -- A surveillance camera captures something terrifying – twin brothers trying to climb their dresser.

Then all of a sudden it comes crashing down, pinning one of them.

It may be hard for some to watch, but rest assured the boys are okay.

Two-year-old Brock and Bowdy Shoff were climbing into the drawers of the dresser when it tipped over, trapping Bowdy under the heavy piece of furniture. At first, Brock tried to lift the dresser off of his brother. And when that did not work, he pushed it to free his twin.

Their mother said she wanted to release the video as a warning to anyone with small children. The dresser has now been bolted to the wall. She said she is grateful her boys are okay.

So how can parents avoid a disaster of falling dressers in your home?

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker went looking for answers.

"This could have been a lot worse. These children were very lucky."

Nancy Knowles is the executive director of Kids in Danger, an advocacy group on child safety based in Chicago.

"Every two weeks a child dies because furniture, TV or appliances tip over," Knowles said. "Every 30 minutes a child is rushed to the emergency room because of a tip over. This is a widespread problem."

In this case the dresser that falls, is made by IKEA. Last June the company recalled 29 million dressers. This one was not on the list. In fact, parents are instructed to anchor the dresser to the wall to prevent tipping. The twins' mom admits she didn't do that.

"It's just not the first thing that you think about to do with a dresser or safety as far as children," said mother, Kayli Schoff. "It's just something you keep putting off, putting off, and then it never gets done."

Knowles said the twin's mom is like many, but hopefully the video is a reminder.

"We would encourage all parents to do that, simply because what we saw on the tape is waiting to happen in many homes, where there are IKEA dressers or any other," Knowles said.

In a statement IKEA said, "we want to emphasize the best way to prevent the tip-over of chests of drawers is to anchor products to the wall."

This Kids in Danger video explains how to anchor a dresser to the wall.