Give your children safe toys

How I can know if I am buying a toy safe and complies with the rules? This is a question asked by most parents when they go to a store to buy a present for his son. The associations defending the interests of consumers warn all people to be very careful when shopping, especially during the Christmas . The Safety Commission Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has information related to the death of several children in recent years because of issues related to toys, as well as many healthcare. Most of these deaths occurred when small swallowed a small ball or some other parts of the toy.

Bad toys can kill

At the time of purchase and give a toy, it is advisable to follow some guidelines:
- Pay attention to labels that have the toys. Necessarily, they have to take: the "CE", which means that the product meets the safety standards of the European Community , the name and product brand, the name and address of the manufacturer or importer, the instructions and use warnings; and in case of electrical toys, you must specify its maximum power supply voltage they need and their energy consumption.
- Find your way by the information contained in the label regarding the age for which it is advised the use of the toy.
- If you buy a doll, a stuffed animal or toy-like, check the eyes, ears, etc.. are sewn or glued, with no danger of being detached.

- If you buy kites or other flying toys , carrying a warning that should not be used near power lines. Or if you buy water toys that have tips that you can use it in the water, and always under adult supervision. And games with chemical experiments , aimed at age 10, must contain a warning that contain hazardous substances.
- Pay attention to instructions and warnings on battery chargers. Some lack of mechanisms to prevent overheating, and batteries can also be the cause of serious accidents.
- Toys that use electric current must have a safety plug. - Avoid toys with sharp edges, sharp or pointed, especially for children under eight years.
- notes that the "whistle" of rubber toys that sound can not come loose and be swallowed. Must be made ​​all in one piece.
- Beware of toys that look like real food . Children may try to eat them.
- For children under age six, avoid toys containing small parts. The toy should be large enough so that it can be swallowed.
- Toys for babies should be made ​​of materials that will not break. Also avoid those that are painted or varnished.
- wheeled toys, scooters or skates , should always be used together with a helmet and appropriate safety equipment to small size.
- The projectile toys are not suitable for young children . Improper use of these toys could cause serious injury to the child's eyes.
- The task of charging the batteries of a toy must always be supervised by an adult. Do not allow your child to handle small batteries or adapters.
- Once the gifts are opened, discard all plastic wrapping to avoid that they become harmful items to play.

Toys and children's development

The toys are essential tools for the proper development of children . Plays an important role in the formation of concepts, skills, expectations and socialization in children.
Historically, children have the need for an activity , to move, look around, manipulate objects and experiment, create, interact, and exchange shares experiences and feelings.

The right toy

The game, besides being an activity helps children develop their mental functions, physical and social. Children develop the many facets of his personality: learn to interact with the environment, develop their most creative and perfect their many skills to help them channel their energy so vital physical and mental and emotional.
All this is of great help in their development as whole persons, also facilitating their integration into the social environment in which they move. For all these reasons it is essential to find the right toy for every age and time , and be very aware of the role it will have on child development. The game changes as the child grows. Soon the child will be representing characters and can express themselves and communicate freely; also establish rules in games, exercising self-control capacity and autonomy.

Playing with children with disabilities

The term disability refers to a lack of ability on a specific branch, but does not mean that the child is a disabled person. As proclaimed in 1959 the General Assembly of the United Nations and ratified in 1990 the Spanish Parliament, play is a right of children and adults we must ensure they are implemented in each and every one of the boys and girls, although in some situations are serious difficulties in the development of this activity . Sometimes children with disabilities can use the toy market, but on many other occasions the accessibility of play materials for these children is reduced or absent. When the toy can not be used by these children as it is marketed, it is sometimes possible to vary the objectives and rules of the game or make some modifications to allow a greater use of the toy. These adaptations can be simple or require the intervention of specialists in the field (for example, translate the sound effects of a toy visual effects). There are various types of disabilities (motor, intellectual, sensory ...) and with very different levels of involvement. This diversity creates a great difficulty to provide global assessments or advice relating to the selection and adaptation of toys for these children.

Tips for playing with your child with disabilities

1 - For the game development of children with disabilities is vital that the design of toys is "for all", so that children with and without disabilities can use the same games in similar conditions. In this way he could unify the one hand, the integration process of children with disabilities in the game who do not, and moreover, the development of standardized toy play cut differentiation from other children.

2 - It is important to choose toys that allow more versatile forms of interaction and that they can change the rules. Thus, it will be easier to adapt the proposed recreational toy to the circumstances of each case. 3 - The play materials used by older children should be age appropriate even if they are in an earlier stage of development. For example, if we provide an activity center handling a child with motor disabilities 10 years we will have to adapt their size and gaming proposals that child, certainly not serve us an activity center for babies who usually use. 4 - It is important to know that there are safety standards for the manufacture of toys and we must ensure that the adaptations we make in them will not pose any danger. It is therefore important to always consult with a specialist. 5 - It is imperative to consult with your pediatrician or medical specialist concerned, in case the child is carrying out a rehabilitation program, since this type of professional will certainly help us assess the suitability of each proposed game adaptation or the needs of each child in particular. 6 - Sometimes children with disabilities are learning rates than those of other children, so it is important to question and adapt the old instructions are provided on the toy.