Toys are an important and fun part of every child’s development. But they can come with risks too. Does your child put everything they can get their hands on in their mouth? This is a common problem with kids up to the age of 3 years especially. We all want to buy toys that will hold a child’s interest and keep them occupied. But for younger children, you need to avoid toys with small parts and those that pose choking hazards.
This is a hack that can help you when you are in a bind about whether the toy is safe or not for your little one. All you need is a toilet roll!
To do the toilet roll test, take an empty roll and drop the toy through. If the toy fits through the roll easily, it’s too small for a young child because they could choke on it. This easily helps you eliminate toys that pose a high risk of choking for a child younger than 3 years and should not be left for them to play with unsupervised.
However, as a parent, I know kids find ways to chew in things that can be dangerous so parental supervision is definitely recommended.
Other things to consider when choosing toys for younger children:
- Avoid latex balloons. They also pose choking risks.
- Avoid battery-operated toys with battery cases that cannot be secured tightly with screws. You don’t want the kids playing with batteries.
- Hand-me-down toys should be assessed to make sure there are no small broken parts.
- If you have older children living in the same home, remember to separate their toys. Some cases of choking occur with an older child offering a toy to a younger one.
- Children at this age pull, prod and twist toys. Look for toys that are well-made with tightly secured eyes, noses, and other parts.
We hope you find these tips helpful please do let us know. Also if there are tips you want other parents to know about please talk to us in the comments below. Our community is all about helping fellow moms and keeping our kids safe!
Neha Savla
Vaishnavi Venkatraman
Mansi Zaveri
KSP Team
Riddhi Verma Ayyagari
