Safety-and-toys

Toys need to be fun, but keep an eye on the safety of the toy! Well designed toys are fun to play with and will also stimulate the development of your child. But how much fun your child will have with a toy, never forget the safety of the toy. And keep in mind that even safe toys can be unsafe toys e.g. when a toddler plays with a perfectly safe toy for primary school children, but not for a toddler. Please find hereby some general safety tips for toys:

Safety of a toy - tip 1: only buy toys with a CE marking

Only buy toys with the CE certification or CE marking logo on the toy or the packaging. With the CE certification or CE marking the manufacturer of the toy indicates that asserts that the toy meets all the essential health and safety requirements for the market in the European Union. For more information about CE certification or CE marking, please click here.

Safety of a toy - tip 2: always respect the age labelling

Always respect the age labelling of the manufacturer. The age labelling is the manufacturer's way of telling parents whether the toy is safe for a child of a specific age. For the safety of your child, never ignore the age labelling.

Safety of a toy – tip 3: stay vigilant when children of different age are playing together

When toddlers and primary school kids are playing together or playing in the same room, you should stay vigilant. Toddlers and pre-school kids will often be attracted by the toys of their older brothers and sisters. And a perfectly safe toy for a 7-year old is not automatically a perfectly safe toy for a toddler. Stay vigilant about toy safety. Make sure that you and your older children keep the toys for primary school kids out of reach of toddlers and pre-school children. Toys for primary school children may have small parts that could cause choking hazard.

Safety of a toy – tip 4: put away toys after playing

Keep your house safe: make sure that after playing the toys are put away, especially when you have toddlers or pre-school children and primary school children in your family. The majority of accidents happen because children’s toys are not put away properly. You and your children can trip over them or toddlers and pre-school kids can get their hands on toys designed for older children. Safety and toys is not only a matter of CE marking or age warning labels.

Safety of a toy – tip 5: involve your older children in keeping your house safe

Tidying up their room is mostly not the favourite time spending of children. When you are teaching your primary school children to clean their room, do not hesitate to explain them about toy safety. Older children with toddler or pre-school brothers or sisters have to know and have to understand that it is important to clear up their toys: storing their toys will increase the safety of younger brothers and sisters.