Toy safety

Guidelines for safe toys

Toy makers follow the guidelines established by the U.S .Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in determining the age grading of a toy. The CPSC now requires labeling on toys that are designed for children between the ages of 3 and 6, which can pose a choking hazard for children under age 3. The labels must specifically state that the toy is unsafe for children under age 3 and the reason for the warning.

Toys and age recommendations

The age recommendation on a toy reflects the safety of a toy based on four categories. These include:

• the physical ability of the child to play with the toy
• the mental ability of a child to know how to use the toy
• the play needs and interests present at various levels of a child's development
• the safety aspects of a particular toy

Toy safety when you have children of different ages

Families with children of various ages should remember that toys for older children could pose a hazard to younger children. To prevent toy-related injuries or death, take the following safety steps:

Choking

• Avoid letting your toddler (ages 3 and under) play with small toys and parts. Children in this age group still "mouth" objects, which can cause them to choke on small objects. A small parts tester can help determine if an object is a choking hazard.
• Make sure that the toy is sturdy and that no small parts (such as eyes, noses, buttons or other parts) can break off the toy.
• Do not allow your child to play with latex balloons.
• Check under your furniture and between seat cushions for choking hazards, such as coins, marbles, watch batteries, buttons or pen and marker caps.
• Avoid letting your child play on bean bag chairs that contain small foam pellets - if the bean bag chair rips, your child can inhale and choke on the pellets.
• An arrow, dart or pellet can be a choking hazard.

Falling or drowning

• Riding toys should be kept away from stairs, traffic and bodies of water.
• Supervise your child while playing on a riding toy and make sure he or she fits properly on the toy.

Suffocation and strangulation

• Remember to discard any plastic wrapping the toy came in - plastic wrapping can suffocate a small child.
• Infants should not have access to string longer than seven inches, especially if it's attached to hanging objects in cribs and playpens - as they can strangle an infant.
• Strangling may occur if a string, rope, or cord from a toy gets tangled around a child's neck. Long objects can be deadly if your child falls or gets tangled up in them while in a crib.
• Loose or long parts of clothing, such as dangling hood cords, could also strangle your child when tangled or hooked on playground equipment.

Other injuries

• Eye injuries often result from toys that shoot plastic objects or other flying pieces.
• Playing with electric plug-in toys or hobby kits may result in serious injuries. Burns and shocks may result from frayed cords, misuse or prolonged use.
• Chemistry sets and other hobby kits may contain toxic substances or materials that can catch fire and cause serious skin and eye injuries, and also can cause explosions or poisoning.
• Injuries also can result from snapping or machine-gun noises made by some toys — noise levels that are higher than 100 decibels can damage your child's hearing. Caps are dangerous if used indoors or closer than 12 inches from your child's ear.
• Toy chests and other storage containers can cause serious childhood injuries, which can pinch, bruise, or break tiny fingers and hands when a lid closes suddenly. Your child also can suffocate if trapped inside a toy chest.

Supervision

It is not just toy selection that protects your child, but the supervision of your child while playing. To protect your child from injury, be sure to always supervise him or her when playing with toys.

Statistics

The following statistics are the latest available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):

Injury and death rates

• In a given year, at least 14 children ages 8 and under die from toy-related injuries. About 80 percent are children ages 4 and under.
• Approximately 121,500 children, ages 14 and under, are treated at hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in a given year. 60 percent of the children treated for these injuries are between ages 4 and under.
• 97 percent of toy-related injuries don't require hospitalization; however, in 2003, 11 children died due to toy-related injuries.

Causes

• Choking is the leading cause of toy-related death, most often due to latex balloons.
• Sixty percent of toy-related deaths in a given year are due to choking. About half of those deaths can be attributed to latex balloons.
• Other causes of toy-related deaths include drowning, suffocation and riding toy accidents (such as when a child is hit by a motor vehicle while riding a toy, or when the child rides a toy into a body of water).

Where and when your child is most vulnerable to suffer a toy-related injury

• Riding toys are responsible for the majority of toy injuries among children ages 14 and under.
• Most riding toy-related injuries occur when a child falls from a toy
• 54 percent of all toy-related injuries occur to the head and face area.

Which children are most vulnerable to suffer a toy-related injury?

• Children under age 3 are at greater risk for choking on toys than older children, due to their tendency to put everything in their mouths. In addition, the upper airways of children under age 3 are smaller than those of older children.
• Boys sustain 60 percent more toy-related injuries than girls.