It's Christmas Time Again - Safe Toys for All Those Good Little Girls and Boys
I'm not sure how it's the holiday season again, because it seems like it just ended yesterday. I am particularly distressed about how Christmas continues to invade November - this year, here in Charlottesville, the town lit its Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Despite all we are hearing about the economy, the retail chaos has started. Money is tight for a lot of people, and this naturally leads people to purchase less expensive toys for their kids. Unfortunately, it is usually the cheaper toys that are poorly designed and poorly made. Parents should be vigilant in inspecting all toys bought for or given to their children.
But it's important that parents know what to look for. In that vein, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group
(USPIRG) has recently released their 24th annual report on
toy safety entitled "Trouble in Toyland" which draws attention to toys which
might present a danger to children. USPIRG's
report divides "dangerous" toys into 16 different categories, including toys
that are too noisy and may endanger children's hearing, toys with small or
detachable parts that could be accidentally swallowed, and toys that may
contain potentially toxic chemicals (lead and phthalates), to name only a few.
And a really cool feature - they also has an interactive smart phone website: http://www.toysafety.mobi to aid shoppers in avoiding
already-known toy hazards and to report potential dangers. So, if you have a question about a toy while your shopping, you can access this site and get an immediate answer.
A recent CNN "American Morning" show examined several
toys which were identified in the USPIRG report as containing potential hazards
to children, such as the "Real Wood Shape Sorter Barn" made by P&C, which
had a toy part on the side of the barn that could be a choking hazard to a
child. Also,
Check out toy safety tips after the jump.
- Keep toys with tiny parts away from children
younger than 3 years old. These toys and their parts are choking hazards
for infants and toddlers.
- If you purchase a toy a child can ride (tricycle,
bicycle, scooter, etc.), remember helmets are important and necessary for
the safety of your child when using these toys and should accompany their
purchase.
- If you use a shopping cart of any kind, make sure your child remains
seated and secured with a seat belt. And watch little hands carefully when
you are at the check-out counter!
- When shopping for toys, take into consideration a
child's age, interests and abilities. A "grown-up" toy in a child's hands
can be boring, frustrating , and sometimes dangerous.
- Whether you shop at a mall toy shop or at a large
distributor, or thrift or second-hand store, check http://www.recalls.gov or http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html
to make sure children's toys and
products haven't been previously recalled for safety reasons.
Have a happy and safe
holiday!
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I've pretty much determined that if this iPod was actually an iPhone, you could probably rule the world with it!
I've had my iPod Touch for 7 or so months now, and it's survived a 13 day trip to England and Scotland, and 6 months of commuting. And I'm pretty sure I would not have survived without it. I've listened to music, searched the internet, updated facebook and twitter by mooching off the wireless from the office next door, and watched several TV series (beginning with Freaks and Geeks through my current viewings of BBC's Skins). I like that it can do a little bit of everything and looks sleek and sophisticated at the same time. It's thin, so it easily can fit into a pocket, or in a small purse. It's this factor that makes it easy for me to take shopping. It deters overly helpful sales clerks.
I've just upgraded the software operating system to the newly released iPhone for iPod Touch 2G. It adds some very helpful quirks such as a horizontal keyboard for emails, voice memos (only if you have a microphone you can do it with), you can now DL videos on your iPod vs. DLing them on iTunes and then transferring. Plus, there's the super awesome shuffle shake.
I was a bit worried about scratching my screen, so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting a screen shield, no make what case you get for it. I'm currently using the DLo Rubber case with earphone jacks. But since my iPod gets shoved into my bag a lot, I bought the DLo Leather Folio. With both I've used a screen protector, and they don't alter or distort the images on the screen.
This internet site is actually quite sophisticated, but for some reason it does not display properly when trying to view on my Nintendo Wii. If it helps, the console uses the Opera web browser and am forced to using the console for accessing the Net whilst my PC is away being restored.
This web site is actually quite good, but for some reason it does not display properly when trying to view on my Nintendo Wii. If it helps, the console uses the Opera browser and am forced to using the console for accessing the Internet whilst my PC is away being repaired.
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Nice website! It is very informative! Safety Dad at www.supersafetydad.com
This is understandable that cash makes people autonomous. But how to act if someone has no cash? The one way only is to get the business loans or term loan.
I think its great to have post like this. It's very important to keep your kids not only safe from all these new toys on the market, but also to have a nice Home Security Systems. Your kids should come first and always make sure they are safe.