Safe Gifts Are the Best Gifts

By David A. Johnson MD, Medical Director, Signature Care

Monday, Nov 28th, 2006; Posted: 2:00 p.m.

As the Christmas season arrives this year, many of us will be engaging in one of the most common of our modern traditions-buying presents for family and friends. While at the heart of gift buying there is warm feelings and good will, it is very important to pay close attention to your gift selections as they relate to safety.

December is "Safe Toy and Gifts Month" because all-to-often the gifts that we buy for children turn out to be hazardous or even deadly. Simply taking the time to think about the gift that you are going to give and the age of the recipient can go a long way toward avoiding problems.

Each year in our country, over 200,000 children have to go to the hospital or emergency room because of toy related injuries. In 2005, there were 20 toy related deaths recorded in children under age 15 (age 15 months to 13 years old). Of those children going to the hospital, the number one toy category causing the injury was a riding toy. Surprisingly, 2/3 of riding toy injuries is the result of non-motorized toys. After riding toys, the category of toy with the highest number of injuries is flying toys. 46% of toy injuries requiring medical attention involved the head and face area and almost 8,000 of the injuries were to the eyes. As you can guess, choking is a major concern for toys-especially for the younger children. Almost half of the 2005 toy deaths involved choking on an object.

To avoid yuletide tragedies, here are some tips to consider when purchasing and giving toys to children:

• Check toys for sturdiness. Assess toys for sharp edges or points. Check for small parts that could be swallowed.
• Look for the letters "ASTM". This means that the product meets the safety standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials.
• Avoid toys that shoot or have parts that fly off. BB and pellet guns, bows and arrows, and slingshots should not even be considered as toys. Young kids (especially boys) seem to have an inescapable yearning to point these at other people. Disaster often ensues.
• Set up and follow safety guidelines with the children when they get their toys.
• Insist that adult supervision is present when higher risk toys are being used. (Such as balloons in younger kids, which are a significant choking hazard or a riding toy which can wreck or be struck by another vehicle).
• As many families have children of varied ages, make sure that toys meant for older children are kept away from younger children.
• Read toy directions and pay attention to recommended age ranges that are given.

Defective toys do not cause most toy injuries; rather they are caused by misuse or lack of needed supervision. Accidents will always be possible, but if you can put some good thought into your toy selections and teach the children the rules that go along with each toy, the chance of injury goes down significantly.

The Christmas season is a time of joy and celebration. Do your part to ensure that this holiday time isn’t marred by an accident or tragedy because of a toy. Make it a priority to keep our children as safe as possible so that their good health can be one of our holiday blessings.