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What You Should Know Abouf
CHILDREN'S
TOVS
How
sale
are
YOUR children's toys?
How
creative? What toys
will
help a
child develop rnentally, physically
and
social/y?
Sorne
toys
are dangerous.
Sorne can
HARM
proper
áeveloprnent!
Here
is inforrnation every parenf
needs
to
know!
by
William F. Dankenbring
I
N THE CITY
of Philadelphia, cheap
10-cent toy dart guns sold like
hotcakes. Eleven children werc
injured as a d irect result.
The little victims had one-inch plastic
darts removed from their lungs. They
had inhaled the darts instead of blowing
them out!
Beware of Dangerous T oys
Toys can and should be a delight for
little children, helping them develop
their abilities, personalities, and mental
and physical dexterity. Toys can be a
valuable tool for helpiog children learn
to play together, share, and develop
an outgoLng personality aod a rcliable
character
1
But in too many cases, toys of today
can be downright dangerous, imperiling
a child's life and limb!
What should a parent look for in se–
lectjog toys for his or her child? What
are the Lmportant cons iderations? What
are the dangerous items and qualities
every purchaser should beware of and
avoid?
Making the Right Purchases
In 1969, Amer icans spent over three
billioo dollars on children's toys. Buy–
ing during November and December
accounted for a record 1.6 billion, or
about 53 percent of the total amount
spent on toys throughout the entire year.
Many of these toys are potentially
dangerous. Yet they are available on the
market.
The National Commission on Prod–
uct Safety has assembled a gruesome
array of toys which might have come
from sorne chamber of horrors, showing
how hazardous sorne toys can be - but
to the average purchaser they might
look very innocent and harmless indeed!
Unsuspectingly, the pretty little doll
on the store counter might have
fla.xen
tresses pinned to the doll's head with a
sharp, dangerous pin. The head
of
one
doll could be twisted off by a child, re–
vealing a sharp spike beneath. Or, that
pretty little doll might actually be
highly Rammable.
Another common danger with many
toys, today, is that they have tiny parts
which can be removed by the toddler
and swallowed. Such toys can cause a
chi ld to choke, creating panic and hys–
teria among the parents, and possibly
leading to suffocation and death.
Other dangerous toys are those which
involve harmful or even explosive
chemicals. Electrical toys, also, can be
dangerous. A cookie making set, or