What you need to know about toy safety:

It seems like we cannot turn on the television or the radio today without hearing about another recall. It is of the utmost importance that we keep our children safe, especially when we are dealing with their toys. Children run with their toys in their hands, they play with other children; they put them in their mouths, and a host of other activities that we often overlook. Some children even play with their pets with their toys so we want to ensure that the toys are safe for our pets as well (though keeping our children safe is of the utmost concern).

We'll grant you that manufacturers face many issues when producing toys for the mass market, however even as they deal with environmental groups asking for more energy and resource conservation, this is no excuse for a manufacturer to sacrifice safety as a means of cost cutting.

We'll break the toys into categories by age group for Top 10 Safe Toys and this will give you a fair overview of the toys that are suitable (and safe) for your child regardless of their age.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winners 2008

For Infants:



Lamaze Chime Garden – We are all aware that our infants need to have all sorts of stimulation to assist in their growth and development. This toy, manufactured by Learning Curve International is a fun interactive toy guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of your infant. The toy has been lead tested and found to be safe by Oppenheim (as of 2007, September). The chimes that ring in the toy enchant your child without making you crazy from hearing the sound, while the brightly colored flowers which emit the chime (as well as light) are well constructed and not a choking danger to your child. This toy retails for around $25 and is suitable for toddlers as well. This toy encourages interactivity in your child and teaches them that a specific gesture will create a specific response from the toy.

Mommy and Me Musicals

Rich Frog Industries has been in the Kidz Gift Biz since 1994. Known for their bright colorful designs, Mommy and Me Musicals is a line of animals (duck, rabbit, lamb and frog) that are an adult animal as well as a baby animal. When your child pulls on the baby animal (as they're prone to doing!), the pair sings a Beatles song for your child. Selling for about $19 each, these great toys are lead free and well constructed with music box quality music.



Musical Babipouce

What infant doesn't love a soft and cuddly 'baby doll' to hold onto. Babipouce is available in a variety of styles including the musical one. This soft and cuddly doll has no 'removable' parts (though it is recommended you remove the ribbon from the dolls hand). The dolls clothing are stitched onto the body and the face is painted on making this doll a great infant's toy. The doll retails for about $30.

Royal Jungle Puppets




Founded in 1979 by Francis Goldwyn Manhattan Toy pioneered the use of non-traditional fabrics in toy design and introduced delightful new body styles in soft toys. The Royal Jungle Puppets are just another example of their creativity. These hand puppets are great for mom and dad to entertain their infants (and toddlers). They are brightly colored and available as an elephant, a lion or a monkey. They are designed to inspire your child's imagination and provide hours of entertainment. They retail for approximately $12.



Spunky Key Wind Motion Musical

Gund International one of the leading manufacturers of stuffed animals designed and sells this wonderfully entertaining toy. Every child loves music and Spunky offers soft lullabies (Rock-A-Bye-Baby) and colors to suit your child (pink, blue or tan) and the wind up key is plastic. The high quality music is more like a music box than a child's toy. This toy retails for approximately $25.

For Toddlers:

We have depended on the name Fisher Price(R) for years to provide us with high quality toys that are safe for our children and we've never been let down. Topping our list of Toddlers toys are two favorites from Fisher Price(R):



Go Baby Go Stride to Ride Lion and Laugh & Learn(tm) 2-in-1 Learning Kitchen(tm)

The Go Baby Go Stride to Ride Lion is designed to begin as a push toy for your toddler and convert to a ride on toy. Suitable for your toddler from 9 months of age up to age 3, the Stride to Ride Lion does 'roar' however, you have control over that. Your child may be more enthralled with the sounds than with the toy initially, but will quickly be entertained by either pushing/pulling the toy or by learning to ride the toy. This lion is ready to steady baby's steps, encourages progress with lights, sounds, and upbeat music. Once walking is a sure thing, toddlers can hop on and ride around. The Go Baby Go is designed with a wide wheel base for sturdy support of your child, ensuring your peace of mind that they are playing safely. This toy sells for about $35 and is a great gift for your child or for a friend.


Laugh & Learn(tm) 2-in-1 Learning Kitchen(tm)

Kids love to mimic mom in the kitchen and this toy offers the following:

1. Learning time
Learn the alphabet with music & crawl-through fun
Drop balls in kitchen sink for counting
Spin numbers on stove front
Sort shapes & discover colors
Opposites to learn—like up & down, on & off, open & close, in & out!

2. Music time
Sing along with 21 delightful songs, including classic favorites & fresh originals
Enjoy songs, greetings & fun phrases on radio stations
25+ sounds & encouraging phrases with activities

3. Imagination
- Discover the joy of role play in the familiar comfort of a kitchen, with lots of idea-starting activities & realistic sound effects
Retailing for about $65 this is a great toy for children from ages 9 months to 3 years old. Fisher Price(tm) continues to bring us safe and entertaining toys for our children.

Little Petals Daisy Collection
Toy manufacturer Mary Meyer offers this doll which features two available skin tones, various outfits that do not come off the doll and yarn hair. These dolls that retail for about $13 each are a perfect toy for your toddler to drag around, throw, chew or simply sit with in their laps.

Madeline Cloth Doll
From the Alexander Doll Company, this 18" doll features all sewn on clothes, hair and facial features. Retailing for about $45 this doll is sure to put a smile on the face of your infant, toddler or young grade school child who will be hearing Madeline's story! The Alexander Doll Company (ADC) was founded 80 years ago by Madame Beatrice Alexander Behrman, the daughter of Russian immigrants and the tradition and elegance of Madame Alexander dolls continues today with a full line of collectible dolls, baby dolls and play dolls.

Inchworm
This novelty ride on toy which your child will love is manufactured by the same company that brought us the red-rider wagon for so many years! Retailing for about $40 this spring action bright green and red ride on toy will enthrall your child for hours!

Sorbet Melodie Doll
The perfect first doll for your infant or toddler, Melodie is 13" tall and is completely machine washable. With fully stitched on facial features and clothing and velour hair, this doll retails for about $30 and makes a perfect first birthday present!

Preschool Years
Gund International offers a wonderful selection of safe stuffed toys. Special favorites of the pre-schoolers are:
Arnold the Snoring Pig is all pink and cuddly and offers sound effects when you child squeezes his hoof and his ear, mouth and body also move! Arnold retails for about $30.

Bobbidi is a lovable 15" teddy bear with a long snout, curly fur and a plush brown nose. Retailing for about $18 Bobbidi will offer your child hours of fun and cuddling.

Georgie Jr. another Gund item retails for about $15, Georgie is another teddy bear with silky soft hair, and soft velour like paws. Sure to bring a smile to your pre-schooler.

Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Ernie, these oversized puppets retail for about $70 but these 30" soft and cuddly puppets will delight your child for years! These puppets feature easy-to-activate mouth and openings in the hands so they can talk!
Games by I Can Do That are designed to bring parents and children together. They have done thousands of play-tests, and understand how to make great games for kids and families. In a world where face-to-face family time is becoming increasingly rare, they believe playing great games is more important than ever!
Cat In the Hat Game combines reading, memory, action, and lots of fun built into this entertaining game for kids 4–8. This game retails for about $20 and will provide hours of entertainment for your children.

You to the Rescue! Game is also a fun game for children between 4 and 8 years of age. Also retailing for about $20 this game offers a scavenger hunt that whoever rescues the most "Who's" wins.

The Circus Tent manufactured by Bazoongie Toys offers a safe play area with windows, and bright colors. Standing 51" tall, this play area is fun area for your children to invite their friends to imagine they're part of the circus. Currently selling for around $50 this circus tent will delight your children from pre-school to early school years.

Diggity Dog a game designed to teach your child not only listening skills, but also counting, your child plays with a dog that picks up magnetized bones and if the bones match they get to keep them. The 'dog' with the most bones at the end of the game wins! Retailing for about $20 this International Playthings game is fun and entertaining for children over the age of 3.

Goodnight Moon Puzzle is a 24 piece floor puzzle designed for children over the age of 3. This puzzle helps them learn hand-eye coordination, helps them understand how puzzles are assembled and teaches them to match colors and shapes.
Groovy Girls (posable) manufactured by Manhattan toys offers a great line of dolls ranging in price from $7 (minis) to $60 (jumbos) that are all child safe dolls that offer a wide variety of accessories, colors, ethnic dolls and just plain fun for your child! The posable dolls are approximately $13 and offer stitched features, yarn hair, and groovy clothes as well as bendable limbs.

For children who are entering their early school years the following toys are Platinum Award winners:
American Girls is a line of dolls offered by American Girl (R) and offers dolls ranging from 1764 (Kaya) through 1974 (Julie and Ivy). These dolls come with a book that tells the story of that era in time. These dolls retail for about $90 but in addition to being suitable for play they also help teach your child about history – suitable for ages 7 and up.

Arena offered by Playmobil is an interactive game for children school aged and beyond. Combining the play area of an arena, it also includes audience seating, trap doors to the lion cages, a wide gate, and a large battle area as well as eight figures, two lions, a double harness chariot, and more. Retailing for about $90 this toy will suit children who are entering school and in later grades as well (up to about age 10).

Who ever believed that you could do anything new with Dominos? Well, Blue Orange Games developed "Bendominos" which retails for about $16 and suitable for children from age 5 and up. Bendominoes play just like regular dominoes but their innovative curved, design gives you much more control over the game while being full of challenges. It offers passionate games in which strategy, luck and good times are combined.

Bump n Chuck R/C Bumper Cars offered by Kid Galaxy and retailing for about $35 they satisfy your child's natural urge to 'crash' their cars while still remaining safe! Kid Galaxy website offers the following details:
Futuristic Radio-Controlled Bumper Cars are Ready to Rumble! Eject your opponents' driver when the side ejection button is hit! "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Features:
- 2 Radio-controllers
- 2 Bumper car vehicles with figures
- Driver ejects when side ejection button is hit
- Car makes sounds when eject button is hit
- Vehicles require 3 "AAA" alkaline batteries each (not included)
- Controllers require 2 "AAA" batteries each (not included)
- Ages 6+

All of us had Crayola crayons as a child. Today Crayola offers the Crayola Telescoping Crayon Tower or the Telescoping Pipsqueaks Tower which contains magic markers. Offered for children ages five and over, the Crayon Tower retails for about $15 and contains enough color (150 crayons) to keep the most active imagination busy! The Telescoping Crayon Tower(tm) puts lots of color at kids' fingertips and compacts neatly for storage. Comes with a built-in sharpener for extra convenience. Endearing Pip-Squeaks Markers are small in size, but BIG in color! The easy-to-hold short barrels are scaled to match little hands and the ink is our special washable formula! Contains 50 markers and retails for about $20.
For Later School Years the Air Hogs Havoc Heli is a novelty toy with an infrared remote control that maneuvers the copters up and down, and right or left. They fly for about 5–7 minutes before needing a recharge (takes 15 minutes). This toy which is offered by Spinmaster toys (retails for about $40) is not recommended for children under 3 due to possible choking hazards but with proper supervision is perfect for children 8 and up.

BeeBoo Big Bubble Mix Kit is an all around fun toy for children up through their teens! Offered by Extreme Bubbles Inc. and retailing for only about $20, this product is designed to blow the biggest, most colorful bubbles ever. Suitable for most ages.

Decoupage Diva Tray designed for those budding artists ages 7 and over, this kit, which includes a white wooden 17" X 12" tray, with fold-out legs, a precut hole that holds a cup, two sheets of pastel-related art to cut out and paste, glaze, scissors, a foam brush, glitter glue, and gem stones helps teach decoupage. Offered by Creativity for Kids, this kit sells for about $23 and is a perfect gift for ages 7 and up.

Another Fisher Price(R) favorite, the Digital Arts and Crafts Studio is perfect for kids who love the computer. As with other computer programs offered by Fisher Price(R) the children cannot close out of the program and access other parts of the computer without a password. Retailing for about $50 this helps your budding artist to learn about coloring, arts and crafts projects and a myriad of other projects which will keep them entertained for hours!

These are some of the great toys that are offered for a variety of ages all proven to have components that are safe for their age group. There are thousands of great products that your children can play with safely, and this is not meant to be a complete list, but a representation of various products.

Looking for neat bathroom remodeling ideas that your children will love? Check out the showers and tubs at wasauna.com. Even better is Wasauna's toilet with a "slow-close" lid. It doesn't slam no matter what your children do, so the noise polution in your house will definitely go down a notch or two.

Unfortunately, not all toys are safe for our children. W.A.T.C.H (World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc.) a Massachusetts based organization (non-profit) publishes a 'ten worst' list every year. The founder, Edward Schwartz has published two books on dangerous toys (Toys that Don't Care and Toys that Kill). These are the 2007 "Watch" list of toys:

At the top of this years list is a product offered by Spin Master known as AQUA DOTS. These toys were recalled in November of 2007 after several incidents where children swallowed Aqua Dots and parents discovered a presence of a toxic chemical rendering their child comatose. This toy was retailing for between $17 and $30 and was marketed for children over the age of 4.

STICKY STONES selling for only about $5 and available online at Thenaturestore.com, this 'toy' is marketed for children over the age of 3. The only package warning is that the toy should not be used for children under the age of 3 due to a choking hazard. What has been found however is that this toy as the potential to cause severe internal injuries. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach inside the body, potentially causing intestinal perforation, infection or blockage which can be fatal.

JACK SPARROW'S SPINNING DAGGER is intended to strap to a child's wrist, is associated with a character from Disney's popular Pirates of the Caribbean series. While the manufacturer (Ziggle) does offer a warning for children under 3 (choking hazard) they fail to provide any warning regarding the potential for serious eye and other impact injuries that may be caused by the dagger. Selling for about $5 this toy is marketed for children ages 5 and up.

While this lamp may look great in your child's room, DORA THE EXPLORER LAMP poses some serious issues. The warning on the label frighteningly says they recommend you unplug the lamp prior to leaving the house! While it may be appropriate to state on the lamp that it is not a toy, young children are bound to be attracted to the bright colors and the figure itself exposing them to potential electric hazard or burns. This lamp retails for about $13 and is distributed by Funhouse.

LIL "GIDDY UP" HORSE - SASSY PET SAKS which is marketed as suitable for birth up, has a contradictory label on the sack that states it is not suitable for children under 18 months. The is intended as a carrier for the toy yet the toy (which is supposedly suitable for birth up) has hair which is not well attached and falls out, and small wooden beads that present a choking hazard. Sold by Douglas for about $11 this 'toy' is simply not suitable for children who will likely 'play' by putting their toys in their mouths.

Hasboro Toys simply wasn't thinking when they produced the SPIDER MAN 3 NEW GOBLIN SWORD with no warnings! Marketed for approximately $5 and targeting children ages 6 and up, this sword extends about 3 feet (by a push button) and can pose the hazard of facial injuries (if the child is hit in the face with the sword when it is being extended) or impact injuries when the sword is extended.

Fisher Price(R) which has been a staple of safe toys for many years recently recalled thousands of GO DIEGO GO ANIMAL RESCUE BOAT. These toys which were sold in retail stores from June to November of 2007 for $15 to $20 were discovered to have hazardous levels of lead in them. These toys were recommended for children ages 2 and up (and children that age inevitably put their toys in their mouths and chew on them).

Spin Master Ltd. offers the HIP HOPPA for children over the age of six retailing for about $18 with the warning: "Not suitable for children under 36 months. This toy should be used with caution since it requires great skill to avoid falls or collisions....". This toy needs an additional warning reflecting that it also can cause head or collision injuries. The toy consists of a foot board atop an inflatable "high energy" ball, a hand grip with an adjustable strap which attaches to the bouncy ball. Children are encouraged to stand on the base and, while holding the handle tight and keeping the strap taut, "immediately start hopping". The package needs to contain the same safety information (regarding helmets and pads) that is contained on the package insert.

What was manufacturer Ja-Ru, Inc. thinking putting a toxic chemical ("poly vinyl acetate", "ethyl acetate", and "plastic fortifiers") into a product that children would have near their mouth and their eyes? The warning label states: "CAUTION: FLAMMABLE MIXTURE. Do not use near fire or flames"; "Not a Gum. Do not chew or swallow",. B'LOONIES PARTY PACK is marketed for children ages 6 and over, and sells for a mere $5 (average) and the theory is that the child puts the gooey mess on the end of a straw and can blow plastic balls from it. These chemicals near a 6 year olds mouth and eyes?

For $18, Entertainment, Inc.; Zapf Creations AG market the MY LITTLE BABY BORN for children 12 months and older. There are no warning labels on this doll, yet the accessory for the doll (a pacifier) is attached with a thin ribbon which can easily be pulled off by little hands and choked on.

Why manufacturer/distributor Simple Toys LLC ever thought that marketing rubber bands to children (even over 5) was a good idea we'll never know. Retailing for only about $7 the theory behind this toy is to teach children target practice. While the warning label is clear "Small Parts Choking Hazard"; "FOR TARGET PRACTICE ONLY! DO NOT AIM AT PEOPLE....", what child do you ever know that would read the package on this RUBBER BAND SHOOTER?

According to the CPSC, in 2005, nine (9) children died when they choked on or aspirated a toy. In addition to the risk of lead exposure and choking, there are many other hazards that reappear year after year, including strangulation, impact injuries, burns, impalement, puncture wounds, and lacerations. The CPSC reported that in 2005 alone, there were at least twenty (20) toy-related deaths, and an estimated 202,300 toy related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. A thirty billion dollar-a-year industry, over three billion toys are sold each year. Consumers have a right to expect that toys they select for their children are designed with their child's' safety a number one priority. Toy companies, retailers and government must listen and act when dangerous toys are brought to their attention.

Some of the 'dangerous' toys we've highlighted are perhaps extreme examples (and we're convinced there are more than plenty of safe toys out here for our children, you must use a degree of common sense when purchasing toys.

Do not purchase toys without warnings, instructions or age recommendations, check out how well made toys are that have fur or hair, including dolls and stuffed animals, that can be ingested, don't purchase toys for your child with projectiles, small removable parts, sharp ends or pointed tips.

With careful shopping and common sense, you can purchase your child toys that will keep them amused and keep them safe at the same time.