Toy Safety - Keeping Your Child Safe Through The Holidays
Toy safety is vitally important. The holidays are upon us, and we’ll be busy about shopping our Christmas lists. Amid all the hustle, we want here at Sincere Product Reviews want to be sure that you keep toy safety firmly in mind.
To that end, we introduce a short checklist to test against your shopping interests to see if they pass the safety test. If they do not, make a special note to discuss these particular items with your children, so that you are certain that they know how to use these potentially dangerous items safely. If there is any question that your child is sufficiently mature to play with a toy safely, keep that toy clear of your child. Here is what you need to know about toy safety.
Toy Safety – General Checks
Here are some checks that you want to make no matter the type of toy, nor the age of the child. These are general toy safety tips that apply at any time you plan to buy any item for use by a child.
- Be sure to adhere to the recommended age printed on the toy packaging.
- Always supervise your child during the first few hours play with a new toy. If there is an unlisted danger, the child will certainly find it.
- It takes some time, but you must review the toy recall lists at Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/).
- Report any toy that you discover exhibits a safety problem.
- Avoid toys that may be made with lead paint. Such paint is banned in the United States, but all toys are not made in the U.S. Also, older toys (from a garage sale, perhaps) may still present a danger.
Toy Safety and Avoiding Toxic Formulas:
These checks focus on dangerous substances that you child might ingest. There is no reason to panic when buying toys for your child, but you might as well be careful where you can. To trap toy safety issues, just open a watchful eye to these substances.
- Lead paint – well understood to be a safety hazard, there are now some pretty stringent safety standards set in place, but laws don’t change reality, and there WILL still be some toys out there using lead paint.
- Phthalates – or phthalate esters, are phthalic acid formulations that are used to increase the flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity of plastics. These too are now illegal for use in toys in the U.S., but you can still find them in rubber duckies & balls, to name a few.
- BPA (Bisphenol A) is an industrial substance used to manufacture polycarbonate plastic resins, epoxy resins, and other such products. A 2010 report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified possible BPA as a possible hazard to fetuses, infants, and young children. FDA has removed BPA from baby bottles and infant formula packaging, and you might want to remove it from your child’s Christmas list, as well.
Toy Safety and Protecting Infants
Children mature at different rates, so you can make an informed decision as to what is safe for your child, but with infants, we need to take the universal view. To be safe, you must assume the following to be a danger to EVERY infant child. Simply put, if it is sharp, or dangerous for your child to swallow, keep it away! As a guideline, always be wary of the following.
- Toys with small parts that might choke your baby.
- Toys with sharp edges.
- Toys made of glass, ceramic, or other fragile material.
- Toys with attached parts that the child might tear off and swallow.
- Toys utilizing Toxic materials as described above.
- Toys with strings or ribbons that could strangle your baby.
- Toys with slots, hinges, holes that might trap your baby’s fingers.
- Toys filled with beans or beads that could escape and be swallowed.
The golden rule for remembering toy safety is to be wary anything at all that is unsafe to go into your baby’s mouth. If you would not put an object in the child’s mouth, then do NOT give it to the child, because that is surely, where junior will put it.
Toy safety is not the problem that it used to be. Most toys sold today are generally going to be safe for your child if you closely adhere to the package labelling. However, since all children mature at different rates, you cannot afford to just relax and let government regulations do all the work for you. You’ve got to take an active role in protecting your precious baby, and this article should raise your awareness sufficiently to help you to do that.
So just remember, toy safety first, fun second.
Happy shopping – and happy holidays!
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