Toy safety

The best thing you can do to keep your child safe from toy-related injuries is to supervise them during play.

We know most toys are made with safety in mind and help kids explore and learn. But accidents can and do happen. Make playtime fun and safe for your child by following our helpful guidelines for specific risks.

Prevent choking

Your child’s risk of choking stems from small parts and pieces of toys they play with. Keep your child safe by following these simple tips:

• Allow your child to play only with age-appropriate toys. If there are multiple children of various ages in your household, make sure to keep their toys separate.
• Avoid letting your small child play with toys that have small parts. Children roughly 3 and younger tend to put objects in their mouths and are at higher risk for choking.
• Use Mylar balloons instead of latex.
• Avoid magnetic toys. Magnetic building sets, jewelry and others can be swallowed easily and cause serious harm.

Prevent suffocation and strangulation

Children figure out how to turn almost any household item into a toy including plastic bags, packaging materials, cords and more. You can help keep them safe when you:

• Keep plastic storage and garbage bags out of reach.
• Make sure cords with blinds and drapes are out of reach.
• Place electrical cords out of the way and out of sight.
• Discard any plastic wrapping your child’s toys are packaged with immediately.
• Avoid giving your child toys with long strings.

Prevent falls

Your child is going to get the usual bumps and scrapes that come from minor stumbles during play. You can lessen the risk of more serious falls by:

• Always making sure your child is wearing an appropriate helmet when riding a bike or using a riding toy.
• Watching your child when they use bikes or riding toys.
• Keeping riding toys away from stairs, traffic and bodies of water.

Prevent poisoning

It’s important to avoid toys that may have lead paint or other contaminants. You can lessen your child’s risk for contamination when you:

• Actively check to see if your child’s toys have been recalled for lead paint or other poisonous contaminants.
• Read the packaging and manufacturing labels indicating what your child’s toys are made from.

Stay informed about potentially harmful products by visiting Recalls.gov or the Consumer Product Safety Commission and signing up for email alerts.

Get more information about poison control:

• Safe Kids
• Illinois Poison Center
• Consumer Product Safety Commission