NEW YORK, NY | November 18, 2024 — The Toy Association’s Toy Safety Awareness Month is well underway, with the goal of helping parents, grandparents, and other caregivers keep children safe this holiday season and all year long.

Throughout the month of November, The Toy Association and the toy community are joining together to share safety tips across social media, offering shoppers tips for avoiding recalled and counterfeit products sold through untrustworthy e-commerce sites; sharing the importance of following age-labels on toys; and offering advice on how to ensure safe play once the gifts are unwrapped, among other simple steps families can take to ensure children’s safety.

As part of the campaign, The Toy Association is spreading awareness about counterfeit and unsafe toys that may be lurking online with helpful infographics – including one about counterfeit toys and a safe toy shopping checklist.

“Genuine toys sold by reputable brands comply with tough federal safety standards that protect children at play, while counterfeits often fail to meet safety standards, posing a serious risk to kids,” said Joan Lawrence, The Toy Association’s “Toy Safety Mom” and SVP of standards and regulatory affairs.

Small parts have also been an essential topic during Toy Safety Awareness Month, with social posts highlighting the critical importance of checking and following the age-grading on toy packaging and keeping small parts out of reach from children under the age of three, and those who mouth toys.

Families are being warned about non-toy items, like accessories containing high-powered magnets, balloons, and button cell batteries – all of which may be commonly found in the home but should be kept out of children’s reach.

These tips and more can be found in The Toy Association’s “Toy Safety 365 Days a Year” video that includes footage from a toy testing lab and advice from Lawrence and a pediatric emergency medicine physician about safe play at home.

“Toys are among the safest consumer products found in the home and are strictly regulated – for example, battery compartments in toys must have a locking mechanism, and high-powered magnets cannot be included in toy parts that are small enough to be swallowed, among many other stringent safety measures,” said Lawrence. “However, kids may come into contact with items that are not meant to be played with, so parents should be knowledgeable about risks and remain vigilant at all times.”

And toy recalls, while rare, are an important part of the safety system – they are an added ‘safety net’ to remove any faulty products from stores and people’s homes.

“Particularly when shopping second-hand, buying from an unauthorized third-party seller, or accepting a hand-me-down from a well-meaning family member or friend, be sure to check that the toy has not previously been recalled,” said Lawrence.

Families are encouraged to sign up for CPSC’s recall notifications at CPSC.gov/Newsroom/Subscribe and to search recalled product listings at CPSC.gov/recalls to know what to avoid.

Toy Safety Awareness Month takes place each November and is sponsored by PlaySafe.org, The Toy Association’s trusted safety resource for parents. To learn more, follow #ToySafetyAwarenessMonth and #PlaySafe on social media for shareable videos, infographics, and advice from The Toy Association.

Founded in 1916, The Toy Association™, Inc. is the business trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $102.8 billion, and its roughly 900 members drive the annual $41 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development. The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, governments, consumers, and the industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned Toy Fair™ in New York City; hosts marketplace activities in Los Angeles; engages in state, federal, and international advocacy on behalf of its members; supports the inventor and design community through People of Play™ and its numerous assets and events, including the consumer-facing Chicago Toy & Game Fair; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard. The Toy Association’s philanthropic arm is The Toy Foundation™, a 501 (c)(3) children's charity that acts as the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry. To date, The Toy Foundation has delivered the joy of play to 32 million children in need worldwide.