Avoid Dangerous Toys This Christmas

With so many people heading out to start their holiday shopping on Black Friday, when you're shopping for the little ones in your life, you’ll want to avoid what are considered to be dangerous toys.

These toys can cause a child to get hurt or even death. As you’re shopping at Walmart, Crossgates Mall, Colonie Center, Toys "R" Us or your favorite Albany area stores, always be careful and look closely at the toys before you buy them. It should be common sense to look for bad things, but sometimes we can get wrapped up in the moment, or just get busy, trying to get everything done for the holidays. We know that everyone’s trying to save a buck, but it’s usually the less expensive toys that cause problems.

Watch for small parts, especially with toys you’re buying for the smaller kids. Children love to put things in their mouth and a toy can be the first thing. This may cause a child to choke.

Another thing to look for is if the toy is painted in lead paint. Some may even contain toxic chemicals like phthalates - it's used to make some plastics.

This is one that I never really thought about – noisy toys. Grandma or grandpa may think it’s funny to give your little one a toy that makes noise because they know it’ll annoy mom and dad, but make sure it has a volume control on it. Some toys don’t have one and the noisy toy may cause hearing problems for the child. I recently saw an article from AP about the Elmo talking cell phone. When it was tested it was just above voluntary industry noise limits.

There’s a group called the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG. They may be able to help you before you do your shopping. Do you know of any potentially dangerous toys to avoid?