Over 450 children a day treated in emergency rooms across the county for toy-related injuries.
Due to the pandemic limiting many social activities, many parents will be seeking gifts to keep their children – and themselves – entertained during the long winter looming ahead. Safe Kids Marathon County hopes that safety is at the top of their wish lists.
“Over 450 children a day are treated in emergency rooms across the country for toy-related injuries,” said Amanda Tabin, Safe Kids & Injury Prevention Coordinator at Aspirus Wausau Hospital “With the holiday shopping season in high gear, it’s a great time to think about safety, as well as fun, by making sure toys are appropriate for a child’s age and maturity level.”
Safe Kids Marathon County recommends the following 5 toy safety tips.
- Read the label. Make sure that the toy is nontoxic and age appropriate for your child. Remember, age guidelines are there for a reason. Take time to read warning labels and instructions to make sure a toy is safe for your child.
- Keep a special eye on small game pieces that may be a choking hazard for young children. While these kinds of games are great for older kids and adults, they can pose a potential danger for younger, curious siblings. To protect younger children, store toys with small pieces in a bin or container after play time is over. Keep the container out of reach of young children, and make sure there are no holes or hinges that could catch little fingers.
- Avoid toys with magnets. If children swallow magnets, especially more than one, it can cause severe damage to their organs.
- Keep coin lithium battery-controlled toys and devices out of sight and reach of children. Small, coin-sized button batteries can cause serious chemical burns when swallowed and even lead to death. Other than toys, this type of battery may be in remote controls, singing greeting cards, watches, hearing aids, thermometers, calculators, key fobs, tea light candles, flashing holiday jewelry or decorations.
- Don’t forget the appropriate safety gear. For example, make sure you get the appropriate helmet in the right size to go with recreational gifts such as a bike, skis, snowboard, skateboard, scooter, etc. Learn more about what type of helmet to use by activity at www.cdc.gov/headsup/helmets.
In addition, if doing your shopping online, be sure to shop from reputable online retailers and avoid unknown third-party sellers. The rapid growth of the of the online marketplace during the COVID-19 pandemic has broadened the avenue for the sale of counterfeit (fake) products. These counterfeit products may fail to meet basic federal safety standards and use of such products may increase a child’s risk of injury. Check out these tips from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about how to avoid counterfeit products.
For more information about toy safety, visit www.safekids.org or the Consumer Product Safety Commission website( www.cpsc.gov).
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Author: News Desk
This piece was posted by our news team! Contact us or submit stories at [email protected].
