Appropriately so, since so many toys are purchased as gifts for our kids this time of year, December happens to be Safe Toys and Gifts Month. I have never really paid much attention or done much reading on the subject of toy safety. When I was kid I don?t know that there was as much attention paid to the issue either since we were able to purchase air guns from that Christmas Wish Book I mentioned last week and my brother and I couldn?t wait to jam them in the ground and then blast dirt and stones at each other.
And even when my kids were young, I don?t recall any of them ever being injured by a toy. And if you know my kids, it may not surprise you that Savannah or Donny never reported any toy injuries but in Hayley and Alexa?s case you are probably in disbelief that Alexa never suffered some injury inflicted by her Cabbage Patch doll nor Hayley attacked by her Puff a Lump.
The fact is many children have been harmed by toys and many child deaths caused by toys or toy parts and according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 250,000 toy-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2010.
That?s a serious threat to our kids.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an agency of the government that was created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act.
According to their website:
CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
And in fact:
In 2008, the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) mandated that the voluntary toy safety standard then in effect become a nationwide mandatory children’s product safety rule. All toys designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age and younger must be third party tested and be certified with the issuance of a Children?s Product Certificate.
That?s good stuff.
And, there are other organizations that help focus awareness on toys that may be dangerous to our kids like World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (W.A.T.C.H). Last month they ?revealed its nominees for the ?10 Worst Toys of 2014? and demonstrated the reason ?toy bottle rockets,? and other potentially hazardous toys, should not be in the hands of children this holiday season.?
I went on their website and I think they have some good concerns. I am not sure I would want to encourage 3 year olds to be wielding a ?True Legends Orc Battle Hammer.? I can just imagine Cameron at four years old, as big as he is, charging at me or worse yet some other much smaller four year old with an almost two foot ?battle hammer? raised over his head.
It sounds like it?s a good thing there are some mandatory children?s product safety rules since there are still some common sense decisions left up to us.
If you want more information on toy safety here is a link to the CPSC page.
And if you want to see the W.A.T.C.H. Inc. ?10 Worst Toys of 2014? click here for a link to their website.
And by the way you still have a few days to donate a new, unwrapped toy to the Toys for Tots. You can visit any Sport and Spine Rehab location or find another drop site near you.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Curt Christiansen
Chief Operating Officer
Sport and Spine Rehab
