Are your child’s toys safe?

Last week, WPIX ch 11. morning news aired a parenting segment related to reducing the risk of toxic toys for your child. It heigthens awareness on the topic – are your child’s toys safe?

The segment provided many helpful hints to reduce the risk of toxic toys – some were common sense and others were interesting to learn about. Here are a few of the tips discussed by Allison Kaden, mom, concerned parent, and ch. 11 reporter:

• Toys manufactured in the USA supposedly have higher safety standards than most other countries
• Avoid dollar shop toys – stick to the well known brands
• Because so many toys go into kids’ mouths (including mine), favor wooden toys over plastic ones because they are less complicated, challenges your child, and enables them to utilize their imagination
• Beware of lead & BPA in toys, pacifiers, and bottles
• Don’t ignore the recommended age (i.e. 3+ usually means small parts that could be a choking hazard)
• Check the government consumer products safety commission website ( www. cpsc.gov) for product recalls (like the recent Maclaren Stroller recall)