Let’s face it – Johnny Jr. is a wunderkind and little Janey ought to be inducted into Mensa. But advanced as they may be, pediatricians and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) say it’s important that parents and other gift buyers adhere to suggested age guidelines when selecting toys and games.
The suggested age guidelines ascribed to various toys are based on safety factors, not intelligence or maturity. In 2014, 11 children died and another 251,800 ended up in hospital emergency departments as a result of toy-related injuries, according to the CPSC.
Here’s some advice from the Neumors Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. John LaCount, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians, to keep in mind when selecting a toy:
For Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
- Beware choking hazards. As a general if an object can fit inside a toilet paper roll you should avoid giving it to a young child, according to the Neumor’s Foundation.
- Battery cases should secure with screws. Batteries are choking hazards and battery fluid can cause internal bleeding and chemical burns. Make sure children cannot pry open the battery case on battery-operated toys.
- Make sure a toy can withstand chewing. Young children explore the world with their mouths. When selecting a toy for a baby or toddler, make sure it can withstand chewing and doesn’t have small parts, such as eyes, wheels or buttons that can break off.
- Watch out for pull toys. Toys with long strings pose a strangulation threat.
- Make sure markers and crayons are nontoxic. Those made in the United States are generally safe, but Dr. Lacount recommends parents steer clear of those made in Malaysia or China when selecting gifts for younger children.
For Grade-Schoolers
- Helmets are essential. Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and inline skates should never be used without helmets and other recommended safety gear, like hand, wrist and shin guards.
- Avoid plug in toys for the under 10 crowd.
- If you purchase electric toys for older children, make sure they’re labeled UL, indicating they meet safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratories. Also LaCount cautions against interchanging rechargers, which can be a fire hazard. He recommends labeling adaptors – this can be done with something as simple as a dot of nail polish on the adapter and the corresponding toy – so that kids know which ones belong together.
While purchasing safe toys is essential, it’s only the first step. Storing them and supervising play is equally important, especially if you have multiple children at different developmental stages in your home.
“Monitor your children’s play and toys,” says LaCount. “Check regularly that the toys for older children are not mixed with their younger siblings’ toys. This is especially true when children are taking responsibility for cleaning up the toys. They may inadvertently mix them, creating a potential unintended hazard. Also, as hard as discarding things may be, if toys break, discard them, rather than risk an injury.”
Finally, remember that toys aren’t just fun, they’re developmentally important.
“In general, use the recommended ages for the toys to help guide your initial choice of a toy,” LaCount says. “Toys that do not depend on batteries, but encourage a wide range of activities are recommended. Blocks come in a wide range of forms from foam, to cardboard, to wood, and are often the most used toys. I encourage families to also have appropriate storage; children should learn to take responsibility for putting away their toys when they have finished playing. Finally, don’t ignore books as a means to facilitate a child’s introduction into reading.”
