Children's toys have repeatedly been exposed to contain toxic elements exceeding the standard. How can novice parents identify whether children's toys are safe?

Mar 11, 2023

According to the "Analysis of Complaints Accepted by National Consumers' Associations in 2020", the National Consumers' Associations received a total of 4,847 complaints about children's toys in 2020, nearly twice the number of complaints in 2019. Cases of producing and selling inferior children's toys occur frequently, and some even endanger children's health and life safety. How should parents choose toys for their children?

The safety issues related to children's toys mainly include: mechanical and physical damage (such as falling off of small parts of the toy, dangerous sharp edges of the toy, etc.), chemical damage (such as illegal addition of prohibited substances, content of certain elements exceeding the national standard, etc.), the application of toys The age does not match the actual use and the injury caused by misuse of non-toy products.
Don't just buy cheap children's toys
In the current children's toy market, there are some unqualified products that do not meet the relevant national toy safety standards. Some are "three noes" products, some contain toxic and harmful prohibited substances, or low-quality products with excessive content of certain elements. For example, the Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision Bureau conducted quality supervision and spot checks on 1035 children's toy products from 651 companies in 2020 and found that 214 products produced by 184 companies were unqualified.
Another example is the second batch of typical cases of the "Iron Fist" action announced by the State Administration for Market Regulation in 2021. During the supervision and random inspection by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision, a BB named bath toy was inspected and concluded that the plasticizer did not comply with GB6675.1-2014 " Toy Safety Part 1: Basic Specifications".
If the plasticizer content exceeds the limit requirements, children may enter the body through the skin, esophagus or respiratory tract during long-term exposure, endangering the health and safety of children.
Therefore, in order to avoid the harm caused by inferior children's toys to children, parents are advised to purchase children's toys from regular shopping malls or reputable online stores, and pay attention to retaining shopping vouchers. When buying toys, you must look for CCC certification. The country implements CCC certification for three types of children's products, including baby carriages, toys, and restraint systems for child occupants of motor vehicles.

CCC certification (also known as 3C certification) is the China Compulsory Certification Mark, which is the most basic security certification. The English name is China Compulsory Certification.

All toy products within the scope of CCC certification catalog need CCC certification, including: electric toys (electric toys, video toys, sound and light toys, heat source toys, etc.) plastic toys (doll toys, plastic projectile toys, "climbing mats") etc.) Metal toys (static metal toys, motorized metal toys, projectile toys containing metal materials, etc.) ride-on vehicle toys (toy bicycles, electric baby carriages, etc.) Parents must look for CCC certification when purchasing these types of children's toys. Do not buy without CCC certification.
Some products are not toys and are not suitable for children to play with. Although some products look "fun", they are actually not toys. Because of their high safety risks, it is recommended not to be used as toys for children. There are three types that are more common.
1. Laser pointer
Laser pointers are generally used in teaching, tour guides, field trips, construction sites, fire and disaster relief and other places. If the laser pointer is used improperly, it will be very harmful. For example, direct eye contact may cause temporary or permanent visual damage or even blindness; if a combustible object is irradiated for too long, it may also easily cause a fire.
2. Electric balance car
According to experts, electric balance cars are neither children's toys nor sports equipment. If such products are mistaken for children's toys, it is easy to ignore the risks. Especially young children, because of their immature balance ability and lack of corresponding risk prevention awareness, are very prone to safety accidents during riding.
3. Water Spirit
It is a bead-shaped water-absorbing resin, also known as bubble beads, water-absorbing bombs, etc., and is widely used in potted water retention and interior decoration. Some vendors sell them as toys, or even as projectiles for catapult toys. Due to the bright colors, younger children are likely to swallow it as candy, which is life-threatening. In addition, if the shards of the water sprite stick to the fingers and rub the eyes with the hands, the shards can scratch the eyeball, leading to infection and even blindness.