An important note on toy safety

Did you know?

Any toy you see on a shelf in the U.S. must pass over 100 safety tests and standards that are required by federal law. They include tests on physical parts (things such as choking or strangulation hazards and pinch points for small fingers) to its chemical makeup (things such as regulating lead paint and ensuring that parts are flame resistant). All items sold in the U.S. for children must meet the strict safety requirements, whether they are manufactured in Asia, Europe, the U.S or elsewhere.

How to know if a toy is safe

If you can find it for purchase on a store or website in the U.S., it must first be certified as safe by experts at independent testing labs accredited by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Approximately 3 BILLION toys are sold in the U.S. annually, and less than one tenth of one percent of these (that’s 0.003%) are recalled by the U.S. CPSC, or Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Nonetheless, parents should always supervise play, especially for younger children. If you have kids of different ages, it’s a good idea to store their toys separately. Directions, instructions, warnings, and age recommendations on product packaging must always be read and followed. It’s a good practice to read instructions carefully, and save directions, warranties and assembly hardware.  It is important that parents demonstrate the correct way to use a toy or game and discard broken toys.

For outdoor play, ensure that kids play far away from unsupervised areas like driveways, swimming pools, lakes, and streets with traffic.

Source : Toy Industry Association has created PlaySafe.org, a site for parents by parents with safety tips, expert advice, answers to FAQs and facts about toy safety.

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