Nothing could be worse than watching your children being hurt or killed while they are playing with their new Christmas toys. That’s why we need to make Christmas as safe as possible for our kids.
Each year, more than 3 billion toys and games are sold in the United States, with 65 percent of these sales occurring between the day after Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas.
Most toys in the U.S. today are considered safe, but it doesn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind. Millions of toys still end up being recalled because of dangerous lead paint and magnets. And each year, some 217,000 toy-related injuries are treated in hospital emergency rooms nationwide — 15 children under the age of 14, on average, die from a toy-related injury. If a new toy comes with a product registration card, mail it in right away so the manufacturer can contact you if the item is ever recalled. Parents also can sign up to receive upto-date recall information from companies, rather than risk missing announcements from TV or the newspaper: Go to www.cpsc.gov , click on Sign up for Email Announcements.
Parents and caregivers should immediately report defects or design features that seem dangerous. If your child has a close call, the next child might not be so lucky. Report safety concerns about toys to the Consumer Product Safety Commission at 800-638-2772. Your experience could be part of a pattern that might lead to a recall.
Here are some other safety tips for the holiday season:
Before shopping for toys, consider the child’s age, interest and skill level. Even a fun, but inappropriate, toy for a particular child can be dangerous.
Keep toys with small parts away from children under age 3. They can choke on small toys and toy parts.
By Jim Lippert
President, Skagit County Safe Kids
Inspect toys to make sure they are in good repair. Do not let young children play with toys that have straps, cords or strings longer than 7 inches, due to the risk of strangulation.
When purchasing a new bike or scooter, remember to purchase a helmet, too. A helmet is a necessity, not an accessory, when it comes to wheeled sports.
Consider alternatives to putting children in shopping carts including strollers and carts that have plastic mini-cars or trucks attached to the front or back. If you must use a cart, make sure your child stays seated and is secured by a seat belt.
Practice proper storage. Teach children to put toys away after playing to help prevent injury from falling on them or unsupervised play.
Store toys according to child’s age. Make sure toys intended for younger children are stored separately from those for older children. Toy chests should be equipped or retrofitted with safety hinges that prevent the lid from closing on a child leaning over the open chest. If a chest does not have safety hinges, remove the lid.
In short, actively supervise children when they are playing. For more information about toy safety, protective equipment and choking, visitwww.usa.safekids.org.
(This article appeared in the Dec. 16, 2009, edition of the Skagit Valley Herald)
