Toys sold in the EU must meet strict safety requirements. But parents should wise up to the fact that no toy is hazard-free and keep their eye on the ball.
Playing with toys contributes to a child’s development and is an essential part of
Toys sold in the EU must meet strict safety requirements. But parents should wise up to the fact that no toy is hazard-free and keep their eye on the ball.
Playing with toys contributes to a child’s development and is an essential part of growing up. Being a mother of a three-year-old, I know well that kids love toys for being entertaining and creative. Improvisation toys (e.g. handmade constructions) bring unexpected surprises and can fill children with even greater enthusiasm than more conventional toys. But whatever the nature of the toy, it has to be safe for children to play with.
Skipping through hospital reports, the most common hazards of toys for children under three years old are choking on, inhaling or swallowing small parts, cuts from sharp parts, motor toy incidents involving hair and dangerous chemical substances. Chemical hazards are an invisible but particularly dangerous enemy that most parents ignore.
Statistics reveal that accidents from toys continue to be a regular occurrence, despite increasingly elaborate safety instructions. The Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products, a European Commission info-sharing mechanism for EU consumers, has revealed that 37% of the notifications for chemical risks in 2015 involved toys.
“Toys remain the most notified products. This is not surprising: toys are made for children and have to comply with high safety requirements. We also observe that notifications involving chemicals are on the rise and the risk of exposure is found mostly in toys,” said Vĕra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.
Toy safety must be guaranteed through the application of safety standards. In many countries, commercial toys must