Many toys found to be too dangerous for children

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32567, 29 March 1971, Page 7

Many toys found to be too dangerous for children

Fluffy and cuddly, the teddy bear in the shop was just the sort of present any young child would have loved to have. Certainly, a fouryear - old Londoner, Amanda Smith, was delighted when her mother bought it for her.

But two hours later in the living room of her home, Amanda’s joy suddenly turned into a nightmare. As she cuddled the teddy, a spark from the open fire landed on its fur, and within seconds, the bear was a sheet of flame. Balls of blazing stuffing shot in all directions and thick black smoke filled the room.

Amanda, though badly burned about the face and hands, lived. But thousands of other children throughout the world were not so lucky last year. Like Amanda, they were victims of toys which looked harmless, but turned out to be killers in disguise. Up to 20 per cent of the toys sold every year can injure or kill.

The American Public Health Service puts toys fifth among the items which cause accidents. It estimates that this year 700,000 children will be injured—ls,ooo of them fatally—in accidents involving toys.

In Britain more than 33,000 children under five are admitted to hospital every year—many of them with injuries sustained in the nursery. The British Standards Institute, which checks goods made in Britain before giving them its official approval, says: “Badly designed, unsafe nursery goods can, at worst, be killers. And at best they can be a constant

source of frustration, annoyance, and added expense.” It is often impossible for parents to tell a potentially dangerous toy from a harmless one.

Amanda Smith’s teddy bear, for instance, looked innocent enough. But it was filled with a type of plastic foam stuffing which is highly inflammable. Hundreds of other cuddly toys still on the market are filled with the same material.

Says Britain’s Safety Council, which is seriously concerned with the threat posed by dangerous toys: “There are some very responsible manufacturers who take a lot of care with their toys. But there are a lot who throw stuff together with little concern about the toy’s safety.” China and Hong Kong are singled out for criticism by safety authorities in Britain and elsewhere. Their toys, say the experts, are often designed without any thought to safety and badly finished. They frequently have jagged edges and are loosely assembled from flammable materials. Toys from Communist China and Hong Kong are generally produced cheaply for sale abroad at very low prices. Often, they do not even conform to basic safety requirements.

Recently, thousands of mechanical ducks made ini Hong Kong had to bfe withdrawn from the market when they were found to be coated with poisonous lead paint. And a consignment of mouth organs made in China were found to contain a dangerously high lead content by a medical officer Dr Louis Rich. LEAD POISONING Warning that the har-l monicas could poison child-1 ren who played them over! a long period, Dr Rich said:'

“Lead is a cumulative poison. It stores up in the body until it reaches toxic proportions. And certain people are more susceptible than others to the effects.” Some toys are dangerous

only because they are badly assembled.

Plastic toys which fall apart easily can be deadly in the hands of small children, says a family doctor. “Knobs and bits and pieces stuck on with a dab of glue can be real killers. If a child sucks them for long enough the glue melts and the knobs come off, perhaps choking him.”

Britain’s safety council proposes a ,toy safety code pin-pointing the more obvious dangers. It warns: “Don’t buy metal toys with sharp Or jagged edges, badly secured eyes, hooks and limbs, or those made from celluloid or other inflammable materials. • “Ignore toys with exposed clockwork mechanisms or paint which could contain lead. Toys made of plastic foam on a wire frame should also be passed over. “Material for babies’ toys should be harmless if swallowed, and wooden toys, designed to carry a child should be of adequate strength.” The council also warns against electric toys, which have operating voltages of more than 20 volts, and urges parents never to buy “job-lot” toys unseen, except from a reliable supplier. “Above all,” it says, “never buy toys which are too old for the child’s age group.” The Standards Institute adds one more hint for careful parents—steer clear of hearing.—Features International.

Townswomen officers elected at the annual meeting of the St Martins Townswomen’s Guild.* President, Mrs G. Smith; acting secretary, Mrs R. Kent; treasurer, Mrs H. Turner; vice-pre-sidents, Mesdames J. Cowling, M. Fowler; committee, Mesdames R. Carter, B. Clulee, N. Fergus, J. Grenfell, M. Harwood, T. Holland T. Hudson. D. Robertson.