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Consumer Safety For Your Children

January 28, 2008

This past year, you may have heard news about recalls of various products. While it's not uncommon for products to be recalled, this year, there seemed to be more news specifically about recalls of toys and other children's items.

Parents work hard to make sure their children are safe. This includes buying safe toys. Here are some tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding toy safety:

When Buying Toys

• Choose toys with care. Keep in mind the child's age, interests and skill level.
• Look for high-quality design and construction in all toys for all ages.
• Make sure that all directions or instructions are clear - to you, and, when appropriate, to the child. Plastic wrappings on toys should be discarded at once before they become deadly playthings.
• Read the labels. Look for and heed age recommendations, such as "Not recommended for children under 3". Look for other safety labels including: "Flame Retardant/Flame Resistant" on fabric products and "Washable/Hygienic Materials" on stuffed toys and dolls.
• Make sure infant toys, such as rattles, squeeze toys, and teethers, are large enough so that they cannot enter and become lodged in an infant's throat.
• Follow age recommendations. Make sure that older children know to keep their toys away from younger brothers and sisters.
  

When Maintaining Toys

• Check all toys periodically for breakage and potential hazards. A damaged or dangerous toy should be thrown away or repaired immediately.
• Edges on wooden toys that might have become sharp or surfaces covered with splinters should be sanded smooth.
• When repainting toys and toy boxes, avoid using leftover paint, unless purchased recently. Older paints may contain more lead than new paint, which is regulated by CPSC.
• Examine all outdoor toys regularly for rust or weak parts that could become hazardous.

When Storing Toys

• Teach children to put their toys safely away on shelves or in a toy chest after playing to prevent trips and falls.
• Toy boxes, too, should be checked for safety. Use a toy chest that has a lid that will stay open in any position to which it is raised, and will not fall unexpectedly on a child. For extra safety, be sure there are ventilation holes for fresh air. Watch for sharp edges that could cut and hinges that could pinch or squeeze.
• See that toys used outdoors are stored after play -- rain or dew can rust or damage a variety of toys and toy parts, creating hazards.
  

Common Hazards

• New toys intended for children under 8 years of age should, by regulation, be free of sharp glass, points and metal edges. With use, however, older toys may break, exposing cutting edges.
• Toys which have been broken may have dangerous points or prongs.
• Stuffed toys may have wires inside the toy which could cut or stab if exposed.
• Older toys can break to reveal parts small enough to be swallowed or to become lodged in a child's windpipe, ears or nose. The law bans small parts in new toys intended for children under 3. This includes removable small eyes and noses on stuffed toys and dolls, and small, removable squeakers on squeeze toys.
• Toys with long strings or cords may be dangerous for infants and very young children. The cords may become wrapped around an infant's neck, causing strangulation.
• Never hang toys with long strings, cords, loops, or ribbons in cribs or playpens where children can become entangled.
• Remove crib gyms for the crib when the child can pull up on hands and knees; some children have strangled when they fell across crib gyms stretched across the crib.
• Balloons, when uninflated or broken, can choke or suffocate if young children try to swallow them. More children have suffocated on uninflated balloons and pieces of broken balloons than on any other type of toy.

Overall, use your best judgment when purchasing toys, and talk to your children about toy safety. Then you can be sure your children are having a safe and fun time.

Adapted from Consumer Product Safety Commission's For Kids' Sake Think Toy Safety.

For More Information

• For more information about consumer safety, visit the CPSC website.

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