The holidays are a time for giving but unfortunately many of the gifts we choose to give the children in our lives can turn out to be detrimental to their health and well – being. We met with Dr. Karen Soriano to find out some tips for parents and relatives for picking out toys for the young ones in their lives.
“44 percent of injuries are related to toys are in the head and face”.
Dr. Soriano recommends avoiding the S’s. This includes avoiding small toys and toys with small parts, toys with strings, cords, straps, and ribbons, toys with sharp edges, and stuffed toys that have pellets or beads in them. All of these things can be choking hazards or can lead to strangulation.
“Anything that can fit inside the empty toilet paper roll is still small.”
Also watch out for second hand toys that may have more wear and tear than you know.
She also recommends that parents avoid toys like shooting guns or toys that have spinning parts like propellers.
“Over the last five years, the most obvious increase are eye injuries. And it has increased by 500 percent.”
And one last tip that doesn’t fall under the “S” category:
“Avoid special toys with magnets, button batteries, with electricity, or special liquids in the toys that can be toxic substances.”
“The main thing that we have to do with regards to toy selection is really to choose carefully and of course supervise your kids when they’re playing.”
It is very important to make sure that your selections are age appropriate, read the manufacturers labels to check for warnings, and don’t forget to check the United Stated Consumer Product Safety Commission for recalled toys before purchasing your gifts this holiday season.
