Black Friday’s just four days away … that means it’s almost time for the official start of the Christmas shopping season! Before you buy any toys for the children on your shopping list, review these tips to make safe selections:
It’s very important to follow the age limits on toys – the limit does not depend on developmental appropriateness, but safety.- When buying secondhand toys, beware of anything that’s very old – try to prevent your children’s exposure to lead-based paint.
- Choose infant toys that can withstand twisting and pulling without breaking. Make sure any buttons, eyes, or noses on the toys will not break off. Additionally, make sure any teethers, squeeze toys, and rattles are not small enough to get lodged in a child’s mouth.
- Don’t buy toys with small pieces for children who put toys in their mouths, especially children younger than three years old.
- Avoid toys that have cords or long strings. Don’t let young children play with any toy that has a cord longer than ten inches. To further avoid strangulation, keep mobiles out of an infant’s reach.
- Avoid toys or storage containers made from thin plastic. The plastic can easily break into sharp pieces and harm an unsuspecting child.
- To try to prevent exposure to poisonous metals and chemicals, throw out cheap costume jewelry. Be aware that lead paint is often used on vinyl lunchboxes and vinyl bibs. Avoid soft or squishy toys made from PVC. Do not buy any play cosmetics made with toluene, xylene, or dibutyl phthalate.
- Noisy toys can harm a child’s hearing. If a toy seems loud and hurts your ears, it’s too loud for your child. Either take the batteries out or cover the speaker with tape.
- Buy art supplies that are labeled nontoxic. Crayons and paints should include “ASTM D-4236,” which means they’ve been evaluated for toxicity levels. (The label D-4236 means that if the product is toxic, a warning must be listed on the packaging.)
Here are a couple other toy safety reminders:
- For children younger than six years old, keep away any ball, marble, or coin that’s less than two inches in diameter.
- Don’t let children younger than eight years old play with latex balloons. The balloons can pop and the broken pieces can cause a child to choke. If a child attempts to blow up a balloon, it’s possible for a child to suck in – and choke on – the uninflated balloon.
While almost every toy is potentially dangerous in some way, the safest toys to buy children are washable stuffed toys, cloth toys, or unpainted wood toys – not the most fun toys, but definitely the safest.
For more information about safe toys, visit Healthy Child, Healthy World.
Photo credit
Photostock/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.
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