Buying toys with safety in mind
Sometimes products marketed to adults can look very appealing to a child, but without the safety requirements and testing that are required of a product designed as child’s toy.
Let’s start with a question to get you thinking…
What is the UK legal requirement for button batteries used in toys?
Must be in a sealed packet with the toy
Must be installed in the toy
Must be behind a screwed down flap
We’ve been discussing this over on LinkedIn - come and join the conversation.
When is a toy not a toy?
Some products can look very appealing to children but they don’t have the necessary safety requirements and testing to be sold as a child’s toy.
For instance, did you know that the NHS is so concerned about magnetic balls that are widely sold as creative toys or stress relievers that they are calling for them to banned?
Why?
Because to small children they look fascinating or like cake sprinkles, and older children have seen them being used as fake tongue / lip piercings on social media.
The problem comes when these small but super strong magnets are swallowed, and the magnets stick together in the intestines and cut off blood supply, causing tissue to die.
Buy toys safety this Christmas
To learn more about buying toys safely this Christmas, the Child Accident Prevention Trust www.capt.org.uk has great resources to help you, including free downloads and an on demand webinar.