Toy Safety Tips for Holiday Shopping

As you do your holiday toy shopping this holiday season, be aware of toy safety guidelines that can prevent any harm from coming to your children.

Accidental injury is the number one killer of America’s children, taking more lives than disease, violence and suicide. Prevention is the cure. It’s estimated that by taking these and other simple precautions, almost all (90 percent) of these accidental injuries can be avoided.

Play is an important part of your child’s development. Toys offer joy and entertainment, and can help your child learn. Most toys are quite safe; however, they can become dangerous if misused or given to children who are too young to play with them.

Here are a few tips to consider from the Health News website & the Safe Kids USA website:

1. Carefully selecting the toys you give your children, keeping toys in good condition and playing alongside your children can help reduce or eliminate the risk of injury, allowing you to relax and enjoy playtime together.
2. Any toy with parts small enough to fit inside the cardboard tube on a roll of toilet paper is a choking hazard.
3. Toys with strings, straps, or cords longer than 7 inches pose a risk for strangulation.
4. Toys with magnets, sharp points, edges, or angles, and toys with parts that fly may also be unsafe for certain ages.

Safe Kids USA website has a more extensive list of Toy Safety Tips  to help you when you are buying toys.

Let’s make sure that our children are not in danger while they play this year!