By Barry Chickini
You glance over at your young child and see her happily on the floor playing with her toys. Knowing she is safe, you go ahead and start preparing dinner. Between rinsing the vegetables and putting water on to boil, a tragedy could occur. Your child could be seriously or even fatally injured by her favorite toys.
This is something no parent should ever have to face, but it happens every day. Is your child safe with their toys?
In today’s toy and child care marketplace, product recalls happen all the time. Even with reputable companies and after what would appear to be exhaustive development and testing.
Unfortunately, sometimes a recall happens only after a child or multiple children have been hurt. Recently, the Thomas the Tank Engine toys were recalled. The recall included various Thomas and Friends toys because the paint finish on the trains contained lead. There were about 1.5 MILLION of these toys sold nationwide from January 2005 through 2007. The same reason prompted a recall of the Soldier Bear Action figures sold between August 2006 through 2007.
Central to the recall of the ‘Thomas’ Products and Fisher-Price was the danger of ‘Lead Poisoning’ which occurs predominantly in children who are well known to sample things by putting them in their mouths. Lead poisoning can damage internal organs including the kidneys, nervous system and brain. This is particularly dangerous because in children from age infant to seven years, their little bodies are still developing, and lead poisoning can leave PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT. Your child can suffer from a lower I.Q. and physical disabilities. All of this from her favorite toy that you thought was safe. With the knowledge of this today among manufacturers, this scenario should never have to happen.
Unfortunately, there is more. Children could become blinded, scarred, or disfigured if any of their toys have a rigid edge or surface. If your child picks up a toy like this and goes running around like children do all the time, this could be disastrous. Toys that contain loose attachments or cars that have wheels that move automatically could also be tragic. Your child's hair could become entangled in the moving parts, causing laceration, scalp injuries or even strangulation. Choking can occur with toys that have small parts or pieces, balls or removable parts.
So what do you do? Buy toys and really hope that nothing terrible happens? What if you're a child care provider or you're purchasing toys for a waiting room at a doctor's office? You absolutely cannot afford to take the chance of someone else's child being injured by one of the toys that you've provided for them to play with. It sure seems like most of the toys you buy could be dangerous. But not all of them are.
Primary Risks from Toys
This is something no parent should ever have to face, but it happens every day. Is your child safe with their toys?
In today’s toy and child care marketplace, product recalls happen all the time. Even with reputable companies and after what would appear to be exhaustive development and testing.
Unfortunately, sometimes a recall happens only after a child or multiple children have been hurt. Recently, the Thomas the Tank Engine toys were recalled. The recall included various Thomas and Friends toys because the paint finish on the trains contained lead. There were about 1.5 MILLION of these toys sold nationwide from January 2005 through 2007. The same reason prompted a recall of the Soldier Bear Action figures sold between August 2006 through 2007.
Central to the recall of the ‘Thomas’ Products and Fisher-Price was the danger of ‘Lead Poisoning’ which occurs predominantly in children who are well known to sample things by putting them in their mouths. Lead poisoning can damage internal organs including the kidneys, nervous system and brain. This is particularly dangerous because in children from age infant to seven years, their little bodies are still developing, and lead poisoning can leave PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT. Your child can suffer from a lower I.Q. and physical disabilities. All of this from her favorite toy that you thought was safe. With the knowledge of this today among manufacturers, this scenario should never have to happen.
Unfortunately, there is more. Children could become blinded, scarred, or disfigured if any of their toys have a rigid edge or surface. If your child picks up a toy like this and goes running around like children do all the time, this could be disastrous. Toys that contain loose attachments or cars that have wheels that move automatically could also be tragic. Your child's hair could become entangled in the moving parts, causing laceration, scalp injuries or even strangulation. Choking can occur with toys that have small parts or pieces, balls or removable parts.
So what do you do? Buy toys and really hope that nothing terrible happens? What if you're a child care provider or you're purchasing toys for a waiting room at a doctor's office? You absolutely cannot afford to take the chance of someone else's child being injured by one of the toys that you've provided for them to play with. It sure seems like most of the toys you buy could be dangerous. But not all of them are.
Primary Risks from Toys
- Strangulation
- Choking
- Electric Shock or Burn
- Lead Poisoning
- Cuts and Scrapes
- Buy only toys from reputable manufacturers
- Use ‘Common Sense’ in toy selection
- Buy toys appropriate for the child’s age
- Inspect toys carefully for potential dangers
- Expect the ‘Unexpected’: Look at toys with critical viewpoint
- Do not leave small children unattended for any length of time
- Packaging material is NOT a toy! Remove it from a child’s presence!
- Use Safety Gear where available for the type of toy. (helmets, pads,etc)
- Checkout toy reviews and recall notices. The internet makes this easy to do.
Let's be careful out there!
Barry Chickini is author and webmaster for http://www.ChildTherapyResources.com and writes and edits numerous articles on Child Therapy and Safety.
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