Health Canada issues safety reminder for parents giving toys over the holidays

With Christmas just a few days away, Health Canada is reminding parents to look out for unsafe toys.

The warning is to ensure they don’t make their way under your tree and into the hands of your children.

“Choose a toy that is suitable for the child’s age, size, and ability, it’s important to read the safety messages that come with the toy and always look for potential hazards for the children such as choking, flammability, suffocation, etc,” said Ling Goh, Consumer Product Safety Officer with Health Canada.

When it comes to households with children of different ages, Goh says it’s essential for parents to be extra vigilant, making sure non-age-appropriate toys are out of reach of the little ones.

“Supervision is key, especially for small parts. Those are very dangerous for children the age of three, so we recommend keeping toys that are for older children away, just so we keep them away from those small parts, that could be a choking hazard,” explained Goh.

As for electronic toys and those that feature a light-up component, Ling recommends that parents don’t let children take battery-operated toys to bed as they could leak harmful battery acid or overheat.

“Children, especially small children tend to put things into their mouth they may swallow them and that could cause some chemical burns due to the dangerous chemicals in those batteries, so we recommend watching how they play and that they don’t have access to them.”