With summertime winding down and kids heading back to school, parents may be wondering what to do with those overflowing toy boxes. What to keep and what to purge?
While it’s important to remove the excess, officials say it’s also critical to pay special attention to toys that might pose a safety hazard.
PlaySafe.org, the online website created for parents by parents to provide toy safety information, offers the following tips for parents looking to tame their kid's toy box and keep it that way:
• Regularly sort through the toy box to discard broken toys. Say goodbye to the doll with no head. Not only are broken toys not as fun, they can pose unique safety risks to children if they have broken parts and sharp edges.
• Get on the floor and play with your kids. Demonstrating the correct way to use a toy or game is the best way to make sure your child understands how to properly and safely enjoy it. This provides positive guidance and encouragement, while allowing for fun in the process. (Teaching your kids that they are never too old to play is a terrific life lesson.)
• At parties and other festive events, be sure to supervise children around latex balloons. Un-inflated balloons and broken pieces can pose a choking hazard.
• Be sure to check and follow age guidelines on toy packaging. The age-grading doesn’t have anything to do with how smart your child is—it’s a safety guidance that’s based on the developmental skills and abilities of children at a given age, and the specific features of a toy. Even if your child is a mini Einstein, the smartest decision is to follow a toy’s age-grading.
• Shop at a retailer you know and trust. Exercise caution when buying toys at flea markets, garage sales, second-hand and thrift stores. These vendors may not be monitoring for recalled products.
• Because children may not comply with the latest safety standards, consider placing vintage or collectible toys out of their reach. Toys from our childhood might be cool, but potential safety hazards are not.
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