Kid Safety: Choosing the Right Toys

As a parent, it’s only natural to want your children to lead a safe, happy life. However, thousands of kids each year end up visiting the emergency room due to toy-related injuries. According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), over 200,000 children under the age of 14 years old experience injury from dangerous toys each year. Although many of these do not require overnight hospitalization, these injuries have occasionally resulted in death for a small percentage of kids.

 

Toys make the perfect gift for kids on birthdays, special occasions and holidays. However, the wrong types of toys can cause choking or strangulation hazards or even damage your child’s hearing. Given the wide range of toys available on the market, what are the top concerns to watch out for?

 

Bigger Is Better

Toys with small parts can present a choking hazard, particularly to smaller children under the age of 3 years old. The best test to see if the toy is appropriate is to use a toilet paper roll tube. If the item can make its way through that, then it’s a definite safety hazard for your little one. Also, keep an eye out for toy warning labels, as well as toys made of materials that may be able to be crushed or balled up and swallowed.

 

Shop With Industry Leaders

Everyone loves a bargain, particularly cash-strapped parents. However, occasionally bargain toys can break, contain toxic materials or unidentified small parts, causing injury. Look for well-made toys from award winning companies like Baby Einstein who pride themselves on creating safely structured, age-appropriate toys for your tots. Also look for toys from companies that regularly appear on parent and government award sites and “best of” lists.

 

Magnetic Charm

It may come as a surprise, but toys with magnets can cause serious complications and risks in children if accidentally swallowed. Today’s magnets are not only powerful, but their shiny look can look like appealing candy to kids. Watch out for magnets used in jewelery and building toys, as well as colorful letter magnets used on your home refrigerator.

 

Lead and Toxic Worries

Although lead toys may be a thing of the past, vintage toys are still handed down and bought for today’s little ones. Surprisingly, the CPSC, PIRG and children’s health groups have discovered high levels of lead paint on recent toys (especially those made before 2009), vinyl lunch boxes and bibs, and in children’s costume jewelry. Try purchasing a home test kit to ensure your child is not be accidentally exposed. Also aim to buy wooden or cloth toys when possible.

 

Get the Right Gear

Active toys such a bicycles, scooters, skateboards and skates pose obvious dangers to today’s kids. Be sure to set ground rules for your children on where they can use these items, being sure to stress the importance of staying out of the street and avoiding road vehicles. Additionally, providing your kids with protective gear such as knee and elbow pads and helmets can go along way to injury prevention.

 

Stay on Top of Those Recalls

Hundreds of toys and games are recalled every year due to safety issues, so it’s important to check lists regularly against what’s in your child’s toy chest. It’s easy to stay informed using government sponsored sites such as Recalls.gov, which also offer an email service to provide you with alerts on the latest product call backs.

 

A child getting a new toy should bring laughs and smiles, not injuries and trips to the emergency room. Pay close attention not only to the toys that you buy for your children, but also what they receive as presents to ensure they are playing with high quality, safe and age appropriate toys. By keeping attentive to what your kids are playing with, you can ensure they lead a happy and injury free childhood.

Writer and mother of four, Melanie Fleury is always concerned about the quality and safety of the toys that her children play with. She has found that sticking with brands she trusts, like Baby Einstein, alleviates those fears. 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/realityfaery/4257269900/

Categories: baby einstein, Children, Emergency Room, kid, Kids, lead, nbsp, Safety, Toys

How Much is too Much? How TV Affects Your Child"s Health

 Every parent knows how handy the TV is as a quick and easy in-house babysitter, but how much should you really be allowing your children to watch on a daily basis? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), many children are averaging approximately 2 hours of screen time a day for years before they even enter school. While obviously the content of the programming is of concern, what is “plugging in” doing to kids at such an early age?

 

Important Facts You May Not Know:

1) Too much TV inhibits social growth.

Most parents know that the first few years of their child’s life are crucial for developing their brain and social functions. While good nutrition and sleep are extremely important, so is how a child interacts with the world around them. TV and other electronic media can inhibit them from these all-important interactions, and also slow down social learning processes.

2) Kids who watch too much TV tend to be overweight.

We all like to occasionally veg out in front of the television, but regular couch sessions can be detrimental to a child’s overall health. Children with screen time of 4 or more hours a day are not only losing valuable physical activity time, but are also learning habits that will follow them into adulthood.

 

3) Excessive TV can lead to shorter attention spans.

Though TV can be educational, it can also develop school problems down the road. Recent research has found that preschoolers who watched a lot of television had more trouble sitting still and listening during class, and generally lacked the focus and attention of those in the class who had limited television viewing.

What’s Appropriate for Your Child

Taking all of this into account, figuring out exactly how much TV to allow your child to watch can seem like a daunting task. However, the television can be an important tool in your child’s growth and education if used correctly. Developing a plan is crucial to get the very best out of it.

Know Your Limits

Parents will read all sorts of advice as to what the “appropriate” amount of TV time is. Try to understand your current TV usage by keeping a log of how often your little ones are watching television so you can get a better understanding of your family’s viewing habits. From there, try to limit screen time to only quality programming for 1-2 hours per day. Engage your children in other activities to show them that there’s life “away from the box.”

Choose Wisely

Kids may love cartoons, but is that really the best use of their TV time? From DVDs like Baby Einstein to downloadable programs, there are a variety of age-appropriate program choices that can not only entertain your child, but also give them a head-start on ABC’s, counting, colors and shapes. Try to follow up any lesson on the program with appropriate activities. This will show them to use TV more as an educator rather than entertainment.

Engage

Like adults, children have a tendency to “zone out” while watching TV. Keep your child engaged by watching the programs with them. Encourage them to clap their hands or follow along, and talk with them about what you see. This can not only provide some valuable parent-time, but also reinforces a different ideal about watching television.

 

Television doesn’t have to be the monster in the corner of the room. In fact, with planning and keeping an eye on what your children are watching, TV can be a helpful addition to your child’s growth.

 

With four kids, writer Melanie Fleury is guilty of using the TV as a distraction a little too much. She found that by choosing educational and developmentally appropriate shows like the Baby Einstein DVDs helped to make sure that the time spent in front of the TV was quality time.

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerine/2623121313/

Categories: baby einstein, child's health, Overweight, Screen time, tv, tv time, watching television, watching tv