The Quilts Zone Blog

A great number of parents worry a lot about how the safe the toys they give their children are. They are right to be concerned as dangerous toys can and have caused serious harm to lots of children, although thankfully with improving toy regulations, instances are on the decrease. However, parents still need to be careful and below we highlight some of the important things to look out for to ensure toys are safe.

Sharp edges. Many toys that you might not consider to be a risk can have sharp edges that are potentially harmful. It is quite common for children to roll around with their toys or run with them, making it very easy to be caught by a sharp edge and even cut themselves badly.

Small parts. It is generally common knowledge that children and small parts do not mix well. As children invariably love to put things in their mouth, they can very easily swallow small parts and choke on them. Sometimes toys don’t have small parts on first inspection, but break up easily due to weak materials and these are equally, if not more dangerous.

Chemicals. Whether it is dangerous chemicals in plastics, harmful fluids in toys, or simply toxins in the paint that they are decorated with, kids can be seriously harmed by inconsiderate materials. Thankfully most toys are tested thouroughly for dangerous chemicals, but some will always slip though the net.

Mechanical Hazards. Some toys might not seem dangerous at first glance but their pure functioning poses a risk to children. Children can easily be hurt for example by poor quality toys that use elastic parts or springs, when they come lose and hit them in the face. Additionally, toys sometimes have dangerous hinges or gates that children can trap finger in.

All toys and Christmas gifts should comply with the health and safety regulations of their respective countries, so next time you’re buying gifts for her or him look out for the endorsement logos on the toy’s label first.

Call me old fashioned, but toys are not built as well as they used to be. Back in the day, a good toy used to last you well into adulthood, and would never go wrong. You could drop your wooden toy car from the top of a multi-story car park and the most damage it would receive would be a few minor scratches to the paint work. If you drop one of these modern toys, then you shouldn’t expect to be able to use it afterward. There will be so many broken parts that even an avid model builder would have a hard time putting it back together.

Some people might suggest that today’s toys are more advanced and have more technical pieces to go wrong. This is a pretty lousy argument however as there are some toys that are just as simple these days, and yet they still fall apart. Also, think back to when got old train sets as gifts, and the intricacies involved with the small parts and mechanics. Trains like these used to be heavy, but they sure were strong. You used to be able to run the track off the edge of your kitchen table and the train would keep on going once it hit the floor.

Why then do we find ourselves with such inferior products these days? Well, as you might expect it comes down to money. Some of the better retailers only sell quality toys, but most are just interested in the bottom line and so have all their toys made in the Far East and using materials that you wouldn’t even want your bin liners to be made from.

The solution? If you’re buying for a girl, hunt around for the best gifts for women on trusted websites, where you know you’ll get quality. When buying gifts for him you’re more advised to actually go to a shop to take a look at the build quality. Boys tend to be a little rougher on their toys and so you’ll need to find something that really will stand the test of time