Tips for buying safer holiday toys
Q:It’s that time when I start holiday shopping for my young children. Any tips regarding toy safety?
A:“You’re wise to consider a toy’s safety risk because thousands of children and adolescents are treated in emergency rooms each year with toy-related injuries,” says Suzanne Condron, M.D., F.A.A.P., a boardcertified pediatrician at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. “Many of these injuries affected the head, face or eyes.”
‘You’ll shoot your eye out’
“Remember the seasonal movie with the oft-repeated warning to a 9-year-old pestering his parents for a BB gun?” Dr. Condron asks. “The warning was valid. BB, pellet and paintball guns, as well as darts, shouldn’t be considered toys. These items have the potential to cause serious eye injuries – even blindness.”
Choose safer toys
When choosing toys for children, Dr. Condron offers these tips: • Select toys suitable to age, abilities
and interest level. • For toddlers and young children, avoid toys with small parts which could pose a choking hazard. • Avoid toys with sharp, protruding
or projectile parts. • Avoid toys with strings, straps or cords that could wrap around a child’s neck. • Avoid electric toys with heating elements for children younger than 8 years. • If buying bicycles, scooters, skateboards or skates, remember to include appropriate safety gear, such as helmets and pads.
“Selecting appropriate gifts may take a little extra shopping, but for safety’s sake, it’s well worth it,” says Dr. Condron, who cares for young patients at Kelsey-Seybold’s Fort Bend Medical and Diagnostic Center.