European Toy Safety Campaign: don't let accidents ruin your summer!

EU rules for toys impose the highest safety requirements in the world. To ensure these laws are correctly implemented and effective we need to ensure they are applied in practice by reliable and trustworthy toy manufacturers and retailers; backed up by efficient market surveillance by Member States' authorities, and, importantly, that consumers know what to look for when they buy toys for children.

If one or more of these elements is missing, dangerous toys may still reach our children. As part of the on-going "European Toy Safety" campaign, the European Commission is launching a new video informing consumers how to both buy safe toys and use them safely. The video features CE-E, a singing robot, to introduce children to the idea of toy safety.

The video also provides parents with access to toy safety tips on the dedicated campaign website.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/608&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
 
The video clip emphasises certain safety tips to be kept in mind when buying toys and playing with them:

• Never buy toys without the CE mark
• The CE mark is a commitment from the toy maker that the toy complies with all applicable EU safety rules, which are amongst the strictest worldwide.
• Do not buy toys with small detachable parts for children under 3 years of age

Choking is a particular risk for children under 3 years old, because they tend to put everything in their mouth! Toys bearing this symbol are not suitable for children under 3.

Read all warnings and instructions

For example, toy skates, bikes and scooters require parental supervision and protective equipment such as helmets to be worn because of abrasion hazards. They cannot be used in traffic because of the risk of road accidents.

These are not the only things parents need to keep in mind.