Buy toys that are age appropriate; watch how kids use them

• Reprints

Donna Scovill, manager of the Naperville Marbles: The Brain Store, says games represent a safe “toy” option for kids. | Submitted

Updated: February 6, 2012 1:39PM

Every holiday season seems to include the toy or gizmo of the year, but it also brings stories about some toy’s safety issues that no one ever imagined.

Recently, Naperville retailers as well as local health experts weighed in on some of the safe options parents should explore as well as the concerns they have about holiday toys. The good news is that today, the vast majority are pretty safe if parents buy toys that are age appropriate and kids use them correctly.

“There are two issues or levels that need to be addressed when you are talking about toys, and one of them is the actual manufacturing materials,” said Steve Zdunek, owner of the Learning Express of Naperville. “About four or five years ago, there were concerns about lead content, but consumer product safety groups took that stuff off the table. We use vendors that sell toys provided with COCs or certificates of compliance. So today, the lead thing is not an issue.”

The other factor, Zdunek says, is how toys are used, which has become the more problematic issue. Parent supervision and age-appropriate toys, he said, are the key.

“You want to select toys that are age appropriate and most manufacturers do a pretty good job telling parents who the toys are designed for,” he said. “Kids under 3 years of age are always at risk about putting things in their mouth, and anything smaller than about an inch-and-three-quarters is the break off point. Kids from 3 to 5 don’t swallow stuff, but you have to be aware of sharp edges. Once kids get to be 6 and older, a lot of it is common sense.”

No batteries allowed

Anderson’s Bookshops might not seem like toy central, but co-owner Tres Anderson said the store’s fourth-quarter sales are always the largest of the year and that toys do figure into the equation. As one of the buyers for the store, Anderson said that “child safety is always taken into account.”

“We buy things that are specifically marked on the package as far as the appropriate age, and we also believe that children need to be watched,” Anderson said. “We’ve not had problems with things we sell because we carry toys that (are) appropriate for kids and are marked that way.”

Anderson predicts that board games again will be popular this year, which he thinks, for some parents, might be an effective antidote to our “increasingly electric society.”

“Everything is about cell phones, video games, computers, and things run by electric or battery power,” he said. “Games are something people play together and reconnect with each other.”

Donna Scovill, manager of Naperville Marbles: The Brain Store, agrees that games are a safe “toy” for kids that reconnects them to others, adding to their socialization skills. Safety, she said, is governed by buying age-appropriate toys.

“Even board games have little pieces, but a 3-year-old isn’t going to even understand the game, so the risk of swallowing something should pretty much be a non-issue,” Scovill said. “Things have to be fun for children or they won’t play with them.”

Scovill thinks toy safety isn’t the big factor now, but pulling kids away from their mobile devices.

“Kids sit by themselves and don’t socialize with others, and these devices don’t fire up a child’s imagination,” she said.

Scovill said so-called “classic toys” like wooden and magnetic building blocks remain popular at her store and offer safety as well as imaginative possibilities.

“These kinds of things are used again and again, and often become a family heirloom sort of thing,” she said. “We also have newer games like Pajaggle! that can be played with one to four people and is appropriate for ages 3 and up. There are up to 10 different ways to play this game, and one is just as fun as the next.”

Cause for concern

Dr. Kathryn Walker, a family practice physician with Edward Medical Group, says that children younger than 3 years old are the most likely to be at risk during the holidays but warns there are other issues.

“Parents always have to be concerned about marbles and things like magnets since two small ones could connect inside the body and cause serious intestinal concerns,” Walker said. “The lead concerns from years ago have somewhat been resolved, but you still want to stay away from things that are painted or are made from brittle plastic that could break off. It’s important to follow the guidelines included with toys.”