Toy Safety: Doing Your Own Checks
July 24, 2008 by toy-tma
Filed under Toy Recalls and Safety
Nowadays toy safety is a greater concern than ever. After last years extensive recalls of toys manufactured in China, parents are doing everything they can to make sure that the toys the buy for their children are safe. But many consumers have little trust for the toy industry’s checks on itself, and are taking responsibility for checking the safety of their kids’ toys. Here are some of the most important things to look out for when investigating the safety of a toy.
- The toy should be both sanitary and washable—it’s amazing how quickly children’s toys can get dirty.
- Toys should be well constructed. Cheap toys can come apart, exposing dangerous parts like wires, springs, or sharp edges.
- Toys should not have no small parts that could come off and be swallowed or otherwise misused, and make sure the toy itself is large enough that it cannot be swallowed or put into the nose or ears.
- Every part of the toy, including all paint and decorations should be non-toxic.
- Look out for points that your child could fall on, or strings or cards that are long enough to choke.
- Stuffed toys should not be filled with potentially dangerous materials like small pellets.
- Toys made with cloth should carry the labels “flame resistant,” “flame retardant,” or “nonflammable.”
The Toy Industry’s Safety Certification Program
July 17, 2008 by toy-tma
Filed under Toy Recalls and Safety
The Toy Industry Association, together with consumers, government, manufacturers, and retailers, have now unveiled plans for a new toy safety certification program in an attempt to enhance toy safety and restore consumer confidence. After last year’s record number of toy recalls, this new program would implement a comprehensive system or accreditation to ensure that toys sold in the United States adhere to federal and international safety standards.
The certification program would combine three main elements. First, all new toy designs would have to undergo a risk analysis to identify potential safety concerns as early as possible. Secondly, all toy manufacturers would have to undergo reviews of their factories to ensure good manufacturing practices. Lastly, samples of all toys would be taken to make sure that the toys meet industry and government standards for safety.
2008’s Best Selling Toys
- Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop Round & Round Pet Town—Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop pets are adorable little plush animals, each of which comes with a unique code that allows access to online play. This playset features three floors of exciting pet activities and comes with two pets and lots of accessories.
– Transformers Movie Deluxe Figures—These action figures, based on the recent blockbuster hit, transform from Autobots and Decepticons into extreme cars and trucks. The most popular figure is Bumblebee, the star transformer of the movie, who transforms into a yellow 1974 Camaro. Read more
What Is The Most Popular Toy In The World?
With all the thousands of hot new toys coming out every year, a lot of people have been wondering what the most popular toy in the world is. Is it dolls and action figures based on TV shows and movies? Maybe Dora the Explorer dolls or remote-control Wall-e robots? Surely the Nintendo Wii must be the most popular—right?
Actually, many parents would be surprised to learn that some of the most popular toys today have been around since they were kids. From Tonka Trucks to Play-Doh, the toys that were popular then remain so today, topping holiday wish-lists and generating millions of dollars in revenue. Read more
About Us
Hey, welcome to Toy-TMA, a site devoted to all things wonderful regarding toys, video games, comics, cartoons, and a little bit of movies now and again. Wondering what the TMA stands for? Well, let’s just assume it just stands for “Too Much Awesome.” That’s what we do anyway.
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Toy-TMA updates weekly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning. Our head writer and editor, Chris Pranger, tends to ramble on about things as much as possible whenever he gets a chance to write something, but deep down it’s just because he likes the subject matter. He’s even prone to comment back on comments, usually in a nice way. He is aided by Kyle Martinak, and the occasional guest writer as well.
