Ensuring Safe and Happy Holidays: Tips for Toy Safety and Thoughtful Giving

The holiday season is filled with the love and togetherness of family and cherished friends. It’s also a time of gift-giving, especially for families with children.

As we embrace the joy of giving, it’s important to remember that the best gifts are not only fun, but also safe. That’s why the December observance of Safe Toys and Gifts Month, started by the nonprofit organization Prevent Blindness, is a great reminder to prioritize age-appropriate and safe toys for children. Thoughtful gift choices not only light up their faces with smiles but also ensure their well-being during this magical season.

Choosing the Best Toys Based on Age and Ability

When choosing toys, you’ll want to consider:

• The child’s age
• The child’s developmental stage
• Whether the child has any special needs that require tailored toys

Good choices are toys that spark enjoyment and capture a child’s imagination, while at the same time avoiding safety risks. What toys are considered safe depends on a child’s age group.

• Babies (0–12 months): Look for soft rattles, sensory play mats, or nursery mobiles without small parts. These things stimulate a baby’s senses and encourage motor skill development.
• Toddlers (1–3 years): Choose shape sorters, push walkers, and soft balls. These promote physical coordination and safe exploration. Avoid any items with small parts because these pose life-threatening choking hazards.
• Preschoolers (3–5 years): Simple building sets, arts and crafts items, and pretend-play toys are perfect for this age group. Make sure that items like crayons and paints are non-toxic.
• School-age children (6 years and older): Encourage active play through toys that require creative thinking. LEGO sets, board games, simple science experiments, puzzles, and outdoor toys like scooters are good options. Always make sure that items meet safety standards.

Inclusive Considerations for Children with Disabilities

For children with disabilities, selecting the ideal gift involves taking into account the child’s unique needs, abilities, and interests. Items should be both engaging and match the recipient’s cognitive and physical capabilities. Such gifts range from sensory, interactive, therapeutic, and adaptive toys, to those supporting motor skills development, and social and emotional development.

Gift ideas for children with limited motor skills or mobility impairments can include adaptive toys that are activated with a simple switch, or adapted musician instruments with large keys or buttons. Meanwhile, gift ideas for children with visual or hearing impairments can include toys like interactive storybooks that are read aloud or that include tactile features.

Consulting with a Legacy Community Health pediatrician or therapist can provide personalized guidance for the perfect gift.

Ensuring Toy and Gift Safety

In addition to only buying developmentally age-appropriate toys, parents and caregivers can make confident gift decisions for their children by looking at a toy’s warning labels. Common ones are choking hazard warnings, strangulation hazard warnings, and suffocation hazard warnings–indications to avoid bringing these items into the home.

Parents and caregivers should also look for safety certifications, such as the ASTM F963 mark, on the side or bottom of a toy’s packaging. This certification means that the toy meets the latest America toy safety standards.

Staying informed about toy recalls is another way to make sure toys are safe. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) maintains an updated list at CPSC.gov/recalls that parents can check to see if a toy poses any hidden dangers.

When shopping for holiday gifts, here are some easy tips to help make the right decision:

• For children under age 3, avoid toys with small parts. For this age group, any toy that could inside the child’s mouth poses a choking hazard and must be avoided.
• Purchase high-quality toys that won’t easily break or have sharp edges.
• If you’re gifting a scooter, skateboard, bicycle, or similar gift, make sure to include a helmet. Additional safety gear like elbow and knee pads are good too.

Choosing safe, age-appropriate toys is a simple yet powerful way to protect children and ensure a joyful holiday season. Yet no matter how safe a toy is, active adult supervision is important to help children stay out of harm’s way while playing.

Beyond material gifts, children often simply want to spend quality time and share experiences with their parents and other loved ones. Spending time together doing simple activities like baking cookies, building an indoor fort with a blanket thrown over a table, or looking for interesting leaves or stones outside during a walk can be wonderful ways to create long-lasting memories that children will carry with them throughout their life.

Legacy Community Health Is Here To Help

Legacy Community Health is committed to helping families make informed and safe choices for their children. From Pediatric Services, Vaccinations & Immunizations, Vision and Dental care, to Behavioral Health and Adult Medicine, we offer a range of services and programs to promote  family well-being.

Our sliding fee scale and financial assistance programs make our services accessible to everyone, regardless of income to ensure every family has access to the care they need.

Visit Legacy Community Health for guidance and resources to support your family’s well-being throughout the year. To learn more or schedule an appointment, visit Legacy Community Health or call (832) 548-5000.