Lancaster General Health and the Safe Kids Lancaster County Coalition caution gift-givers to keep safety in mind when choosing toys for young children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) emphasizes the importance of shopping safely. Know your ABC's of toy safety: (A) awareness, and knowing the (B) benefits, for (C) consumers - (Awareness Benefits Consumers).

Although there has been a spate of toy recalls recently, the number of toys recalled is a fraction of the 3 billion toys sold in the United States every year. The number of children who die from toy accidents has stayed relatively low.

Each year, more than 150,000 toy-related injuries are treated in hospital emergency rooms nationwide.  But on average, about 15 children under the age of 14, dies each year from a toy-related injury.

Even though most toys are considered safe, parents and caregivers need to remain vigilant and up-to-date on recalls.

Toy Safety Resources

For more information about toy safety call 717-544-3282 or visit www.usa.safekids.org.

To stay informed about harmful products in the marketplace, parents can go to www.recalls.gov and sign up for email alerts on recalled children’s products.

Don’t hesitate to report defects or design features that seem dangerous.  Report safety concerns to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at www.cpsc.gov or by calling 800-638-2772.

If secondhand toys are purchased, or received from friends or relatives, Safe Kids Lancaster County advises parents to visit www.cpsc.gov and make sure the toy hasn’t been recalled for safety reasons.

Steps You Can Take for Toy Safety

• Make sure to buy age-appropriate toys. Of the average of 15 children who die from a toy-related injury, most are related to choking on small parts.

• Do not buy toys with small parts for children under age 3 (and do not allow a child under age 3 to play with those kinds of toys belonging to an older sibling). All toys are clearly marked if they have small parts.

• Avoid second-hand toys.

• Check the previously recalled lists to make sure no recalled toys remain in your home.

• Avoid buying second-hand toys or toys online that are not from dealers you know have been vigilant enough to remove recalled toys from their inventories.

• Don’t give away used toys to toy drives; buy new toys that have not been recalled. Only pass along or donate used toys that you know have not been recalled.

• Take safety precautions with toys you already own.

• Identify dangerous small parts. To be sure of a toy’s size, use a small parts tester (available in quantity from the Safe Kids Resource Catalog). If you don’t have a small parts tester, you can use an empty toilet paper roll. Do not let small children play with anything that can fit into any of these cylinders.

• Inspect toys to make sure they are in good repair. Do not let young children play with toys that have straps, cords or strings longer than 7 inches, due to the risk of strangulation.

• Actively supervise children. Caregivers should actively supervise children playing with any toy that has small parts, moving parts, electrical or battery power, cords, wheels or any other potentially risky component. Simply being in the same room as your child is not necessarily supervising. Active supervision means keeping the child in sight and in reach and paying undivided attention.

• Practice proper storage. Teach children to put toys away after playing, to help prevent falls and unsupervised play, and make sure toys intended for younger children are stored separately from those for older children. Toy chests should be equipped or retrofitted with safety hinges that prevent the lid from closing on a child who is leaning over the open chest; if a chest does not have safety hinges, remove the lid.