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the oxamlnor Wodnooday Nov 10 1977 21 qa Parents cannot carry burden legislation setsstandards The federal department of consumer and corporate affairs does not believe parents should carry the whole burden of selec ting safe toys says Brenda Atkey consumer services of ficer Miss Atkey was in Barrie recently to present program on toys at the request of the Barrie branch of the Con sumers Association of Canada She said government in tervention in toy manufac turing is necessary There are between 5000 and 10000 to on the market she said an manufacturers are in the business of making toys that are exciting and will sell Every child has the basic right to safety she said and few years ago it became ap parent there was real need to set some kind of standards The number of toys on the market makes it im ible for parent to know which toys are safe she said So the federal government initiated the Hazardous Products Act with special em phasis placed on childrens toys N0 LIST The department does not have list of bad toys bad toys are simply taken off the market The government and the Canadian Toy Testing Council have made significant inroads Reading the good toy book am in here in the last three or four years Miss Atkey said and many dangerous toys have been removed from the shelves of toy stores Toys coming into the depart ments testing laboratories have tough road ahead of them They are going to be pulled ushed pounded drop pedont floormeasuredrip ped apart and somebodys going to try and set fire to them Testing has uncovered some BRENDA ATKEY standards needed ugly surprises such as steel spikes inside baby rattles and eyes attached with metal spikes to plush animals Baby rattles must now pass test that ensures they are too big to lodge in an infants throat Regulations take time to take effect Miss Atkey said and while the govemment is wat ching the situation closely it needs the help of parents Parents must watch how the toys are used in the home and report any unsafe toys to the department HOMEMADE TOYS While the department can monitor manufactured toys Miss Atke said there is con cern over omemade toys Parents must ensure that all safety standards are met by the homemade toys and pay par ticular attention to the stuffing used in plush toys Seeds should never be used to stuff toys Miss Atkey warned Seeds may be toxic or could lodge in childs throat or nostrils Miss Atkey also has per sonal concern about toys Our society is becoming more throwaway oriented she said and because toys are childs first possessions they should be toys that will last Otherwise she said children will learn the throwaway ap proach Things to look for There are number of things adults should try to avoid when shopping for toys and there are also number of things they should look for The Hurnoia Branch of the Association for Early Childhood Education of Ontario recently sponsored oneday conference on toys Abbie RobinsonArmstrong early childhood education co ordinator at Seneca College in Toronto was key speaker at the conference In her View the more toy does on its own the less it allows the child to express him self The doll that walks talks and eats limits itself while the Iain variety keeps the whee of creativity in motion Her advice to all parents is to try and find those toys that are very plain but lend themselves to many aspects of activity The Toy Testing Council has few suggestions too The play of infants one to six months old is related to developing sense of sight taste smell touch and sound They should have toys that in clude wide variety of tex tuxes weights shapes colors and sounds suitable for easy grasping and mouthing At seven to 15 months toys should reflect the childs now develo ing ability to move Tod lers between one and two years are now aware of muscualr action and control They are beginning to walk and enjoy push and pull toys that makeasound The toy council points out all children like to makebelieve dressup and imitate adults Toys should reflect their surroundings and encourage children to use their imagination On Christmas morning the eyes of little children are usually brighter than the lights on the tree Santa has paid his annual visit and there are lots of new toys to play with for few hours at least Three hours later the Etch ASketch has fallen on the floor and no longer functions Slinky took one good run down the hallway stairs and now lies in tangled mess at the base of the coat rack Sixfiarold Suzie really liked oil painting set her un cle gave her The pictures by Michaelangelo were neat and only took 10 minutes to finish Too bad about moms Irish linen table cloth The paint will never come out Talking Barbie has shut up permanently The electric train fistsoaot gm yuui runs but not on its tracks By the time the track was finally assembled minus the pieces that werent in the package it was warped Christmas toys can become headache particularly when they break never function in the first place or end up in the hands of child too young or too old to appreciate them And each year at this time the Canadian Toy Testing Council starts hammering home another message toys can be dangerous too Each year hundreds of children require medical at tention due to inuries from un safe toys uns play habits and unsafe play en vironments the council points out It also emphasizes federal laws now set safety standards for toys but no law can replace parental responsibility super vision and common sense The Canadian Toy Testing Council is an independent volunta organization founded in 1952 parents concerned about the quality and safety of was purposeisto encourage the manufacture of good toys and to ac uaint the consumer with well esigned functional toys available in Canada The council issues book each year entitled Good Tovs The book costingisl Day be purchased from the Canadian Toy Testing Council P0 Box 6014 Station tawaK2A1T1 The book lists 500 individual toys tested and approved by the council They are broken down into variety of categories such as wheel toys imaginative play outdoor lay and games The book so takes age into account and makes few suggestions For instance Slinky is listed as facinating for wide age range but Adult super vision is recommended for younger child as spring coil is easily damaged The booklet lists manufac turers and if any manufacturer could be considered to have the councils seal of approval it would have to be FisherPrice 0f the 500 toys recommended in the book 64 are made by FisherPrice The manufac turer is mentioned most often under the headings Toys for the Very Young Wheel Toys Dolls and Ac cessories and Imaginative Play Toys should bring ioy not one big headache Other manufacturers listed several times under those headings are Combex for the very young Tonka for wheels and Mattel for dolls Under outdoor play Reliable and Viceroy are mentioned several times For co ordination and construction toys Samsonite is mentioned most There is large section on games which evaluates their price age range and interst value Parker gets the nod most often followed by Somerville The other three sections are puzzles and solitary play arts and crafts and science kits and equipment and model kits The most frequently mentioned manufacturers are Somerville Canada Crayon and Mine Labs respectively agggfigfiygtfigfivwfiwu But the Canadian Toy Testing Council says just buying good toy is not enought Even good toys in the hands of the wrong child can be dangerous itsa Parents shoul look for the manufacturers safety in formation on the packaging such as nontoxic non ftpmmable or not recommended for children under ree Its the parents job to read packages The child cant read Or if he can read he probably wouldnt understand the instructions The council also warns against impulse buying based on highpressure TV advertising Stop and think before making toy purchase and pen sonalliv check the safety features of the toy you want to buy Po low not only the manufacturers age level but your own common sense The council has come up with list of safety mics it recommends all parents follow Inspect toys regularly for wear or damage which may prove dangerous Perioltfically check for sharp edges ex ed points splinters loose parts and defective wiring epair the toy immediately put it away until it can be repaired or discard it If batterirs are used in toy ensure the batteries are not dead as they often leak corrosive liquid if left for long periods Encourage older children to keep their toys out of the reach of younger ones INFANTS ANI TODDLERS Toys for very small children should be chosen with extra care Rattles and teethers should be made of durable smooth materials which can be washed Avoid brittle plastic toys which break easily The edges can be very sharp and dangerous if chipped or broken Check that there are no rough flashings which may cut All metal edges on toys should be rounded or rolled making them smooth toy should be large enough that the child cannot swallow it or put it in the ears or nose Make sure there are no detachable small arts that could lodge in the windpipe ears or nostrils or inhaled Toys should be completely washable Pull toys or other toys with cards should not have strings which are too long They could get caught around the neck ass few safety guidelines and strangle child They should never be given to children in playpens or cribs Pul and push toys should have protective knob on shaftlike handle Look for label on stuffed toys indicting that the filling is hygenic Check seams to be sure they are intact Eyes and nose hair buttons and so on should be firmly attached Painted or embroidered facial features are safer Check that squeakers in sgueeze toys or other noise mechanisms are firmly imbed ed Ensure that mobiles are out of the reach of children PRESCHOOLERS In addition to all the previous points check the following Painted toys such as blocks should bear nontoxic label Wooden toys should be screwed or glued together rather than nailed Check wooden surfaces to be sure the edges and corners are smoothly finished and splinterfree Paints crayons markers and finger paints should bear nontoxic label Check that wheels on cars and trucks cannot be pulled off oexposmg sharp axles Make sure plastic not glass is used in toy car truck and airplane windows Imitative toys such as irons kettles and ovens should not plug into house current They should have simulated plugs made of magnets 0r suction cups Large toys and toy refrigerators should have ventilation holes Just in case the child decides to hide inside them Make sure rideon toys are well balanced and stable Toy headgear is just that and should never be substituted for real protective headgear required for the rigors of sports OLDER IIILDREN Electrical toys which use house current should employ transformer to reduce voltage below 20 volts Look for CSA label that shows the toy has been tested for safety of its elec trical parts Costumes should be made of flame retardant materials Avoid face masks Use recommended childs face paints which are safe do not obscure vision and are so much more fun to create with and use Choose toys that have low noise level Avoid shooting games especially for children under six Those involving darts or arrows should be played under adult supervision at any age Kites and strings should be made of nonconducting materials to eliminate the possibility of shock its What few good tugs and drop on the floor revealed When Brenda Atkey arrived In Barrie recently to present program on toys she brought along few of the surprises the federal department of consumer and co found in Its testing laboratory At left is it why rporate affairs poily toy rabbitthe type that jingles when It rocks When ministry testers dropped It on the floor it broke open revealing circle of metal spikes At right are two toys that didnt ass the pull test The doll lost its head revealing protruding wooden spike The stuff dog which has already lost Its nose has eyes attached by metal spikes The ministry does not produce list of bad toys such as these Miss Atkey said Any toys found to be hazardous are removed from the market Ex aminer Photo and