Safe Toys: Why You Can be Confident in the Safety of Toys

The 2006 Holiday season is upon us - the major toy-giving season of the year, when children of all ages look forward to playing with the new toys they will receive from parents and grandparents, friends and caregivers. The most important thing for all of us - those who make the toys and those who give them - is that children enjoy them safely.

The Toy Industry Association (TIA), which represents the manufacturers and distributors of toys in North America, would like to assure you that you can be confident that the toys you give during these holidays, and all year 'round, are safe for kids to play with. Toygivers and toymakers together make sure this is true. Here's why:

• Toy safety is our top priority.
  Toymakers' ultimate and only consumers are the families who play with the products we make. We recognize the special responsibility that goes with making products for children and we would never sell a product that was not safe.
• US toy safety standards are the world's best.
  Toys sold in the United States are the most highly-regulated and monitored in the world. Our toy safety standards serve as models for countries around the globe.
• Toys sold in the USA have an excellent safety track record.
  The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the independent federal agency that oversees the safety of 15,000 consumer products, consistently lists toys among the safest of 15 common consumer product categories in the home. If there is ever any question about the safety of an item, CPSC and toymakers work together to fix it or withdraw it from the market.
• To ensure safe play, toygivers need to do their part, too.
  Toys are manufactured and distributed with instructions as to proper usage, age appropriateness and safe play practices. Toygivers should read toy packaging carefully before making a purchase to ensure fun and safe play. And remember, there is no substitute for adult supervision.
• A full-time safety resource is available to answer your questions.
  To provide 24/7 access for families and caregivers to important information about toys and safe play, TIA offers a Toy Safety Hotline online at www.toyhotline.org.

For 90 years, Toy Industry Association and the toy manufacturers it represents have made it a priority to ensure children's safety and well-being while bringing joy to their lives.