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Toy
Safety Article: The information you need to make safe toy choices and
valuable tips on what you as parents and caregivers
can do to protect
your children from unsafe toys!
The Dangers Of Buttons And Beans
By Victor
Epand
If you go in to any toy store today, the chances
are very high that every toy that is stocked complies with all current
legal requirements for safety. There are, however, places where toys
that do not meet this criteria are sold, and especially if you are
purchasing toys from abroad, you need to be careful because laws in
different countries will vary, as will standards. If buying over the
internet you have to be especially careful in this regard.
However, what is just as important as checking
that toys meet current safety standards is to think about the age
requirements and suitability, as it is quite possible to purchase a toy
which meets with all current legal safety standards, but which is aimed
at children older than yours. Since children develop so very quickly
during their early years, a matter of months can make a good deal of
difference when looking at toys and how suitable they are. In some
cases, toys are clearly not suited to younger children, but no age tag
has been placed on it. It is important, therefore, that you take care
when choosing toys for your own, and other people's children, and that
when your child is given a toy by a doting relative or friend, you
check out any potential issues with it straight away.
One of the most common problems are toys with
small parts that could become a choking hazard. Small children, babies
and toddlers especially, have smaller throats and windpipes, and this
fact, coupled with their natural tendency to put things into their
mouths represents a real danger. Small children begin to learn about
the world around them by using their mouths much more that you'd
imagine. Everything goes in the mouth for them to explore its texture,
shape, size, taste and other attributes - it's a natural learning
process. Teddy bears and other stuffed toys will be treated in the same
way.
However, one thing which small children
particularly enjoy is feeling the difference in textures from one part
of a toy to another, and so button eyes on a teddy bear, for example,
will be sucked and fiddled with much more than the rest of the toy.
Although the buttons or eyes will seem to be fixed fairly well, the
cotton thread holding them on will be subjected to a good deal of
moisture and fiddling, and this will break down the fibres quite
quickly, and lead to the button becoming dislodged. It is advisable to
cut off any buttons or eyes from stuffed toys if being given to a small
child to play. You can either choose only those toys with eyes and
features drawn on, or sewn as patches of material, or replace the
buttons and eyes with these yourself, or simply sew them back on when
the child is older.
Similarly, many stuffed toys now have bean bag
inserts in their bottoms or paws to help them sit up and be posable.
Again, this represents a hazard as the toddler will be drawn to the
feel of this unusual texture, and if the bag inside splits and the
child gets a seam open, then they could easily choke on the beans.
Remember, a child is often left alone for long periods of time at
night, whilst surrounded by all these stuffed toys, and so it is very
important to be very aware of these dangers, and take care to prepare
the toys for safety, or remove them until the child is older.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids
toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for
kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for kids
toys, teddy bears, toy safety, dolls,
and used video games.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_Epand
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Dangers-Of-Buttons-And-Beans&id=1188404
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