Toy Safety

Purchasing

• When choosing a toy, keep the child's age, interests, and skill level in mind.
• Look for quality design and construction.
• Make sure that all instructions are clear to you, and the child when appropriate.
• Discard plastic wrappings immediately.
• Read labels. Check for age recommendations, and labels such as "Flame retardant/Flame resistant" on fabric products and "Washable/hygienic materials" on stuffed toys and dolls.

Maintenance

• Regularly check your child's toys for breakage and potential hazards.
• Throw away or repair damaged and dangerous toys immediately.
• Sand rough wooden edges smooth.
• Examine outdoor toys for rust or weak parts.
• If you need to repaint toys or toy boxes, use only new paint, which should be lead free.

Storage

• Teach children to put their toys safely away on shelves or in a toy chest after playing to prevent trips and falls.
• 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. Also, be sure that there are ventilation holes for fresh air. Watch for sharp edges that could pinch or squeeze.
• Store outdoor toys after playtime. Rain and dew can cause rust, which leads to a variety of hazards.

Also check for

• Sharp edges
  - New toys intended for children under the age of eight should, by regulation, be free of sharp glass and metal edges. With use, older toys may break, exposing sharp edges.
• Small parts
  - Older toys can break to reveal parts small enough to be swallowed or lodged in a child's windpipe, ears, or nose. The law regulates small parts on new toys intended for children under the age of three.
• Loud noises
  - Toy caps, and other noisemaking toys that produce a noise above a certain level are required by law to be labeled: "WARNING-Do not fire closer than one foot to the ear. Do not use indoors."
• Cords and strings
  - Cords on toys can 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.
• Sharp points
  - Although CPSC regulation prohibits sharp points in new toys and other articles intended for use by children under eight years of age, older toys may contain them. Broken toys may produce dangerous points or prongs, as will stuffed toys with bendable wires.
• Propelled objects
  - Projectiles can be turned into weapons, which can injure eyes in particular. Children should never be allowed to play with adult hobby and sporting equipment that has sharp points.
• Electric Toys
  - Electric toys must meet mandatory requirements for maximum surface temperatures, electrical construction and prominent warning labels. Any electrical toys that are improperly constructed, wired, or misused can shock or burn.
• Age recommendations
  - Keep toys designed for older children out of the hands of little ones. Also, keep balloons away from young children, to prevent suffocation.