A look at Toy Safety
What is a toy?
It is any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of age but excludes items such as toy steam engines, detailed scale models for adult collectors, folk dolls and sports equipment.
The CE mark that you see on toy packaging, together with European Union address of the first supplier, is meant to give toys the right of circulation across the Community and is a declaration that the toy satisfies the essential safety requirements of the EU toy safety directive. This mark is for enforcement purposes only and is not meant to indicate to the consumer that a toy is safe or of good quality, but is required to appear on all toys.
The Lion Mark(see page 1) is used exclusively by members of the British Toy & Hobby Association to indicate that their toys are made to current British and European standards and that they are following the BTHA Code of Practice.
Toy warnings: A new symbol indicates that a toy is not suitable for children under 3 years of age. With this symbol there must be reference to the hazard, e.g. "because of small parts" which might cause choking.
Toy accidents: Rarely does a toy itself cause an accident. The quality and safety of today's toys ensure that. Of all accidents that occur in the home, those that are toy-related represent just 1.5% - and not all of these affect children. Many accidents are caused by toys left lying on the floor for an unwary adult to trip over.
European Standard EN71 consists of nine parts covering mechanical and physical properties of toys, flammability, specification for the migration of certain elements (toxicity), specification for experimental sets for chemistry and related activities, chemical toys (sets) and other experimental sets, graphic symbols, organic chemicals, finger paints, swings and slides. The standard for electrical toys is EN50088:1996
Useful tips for making sure your toys are still safe: Always check toys for sharp points and rough edges, and with soft toys, make sure noses, eyes and hair cannot be bitten off or pulled off by inquisitive little fingers. Broken toys can be dangerous. Make regular checks in the toy box.
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