Submitted by administrator on
With less than three weeks until Christmas day, shoppers around the world are flooding shopping centres and keenly hunting deals and bargains for children, friends and loved ones via online stores. While top savings and discounts are probably at the top of most parents' minds, many may not be keeping such a keen eye on safety, especially in regards younger children, in order to ensure that the festive period is fun as well as safe.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, or AAO, has been eager, as are many other organisations around holiday times, to try and make everyone aware of potential pitfalls and accident hot spots so as to avoid them and enjoy the festive period. With the top 10 presents and requested items list in the hands of consumers globally, most buy on demand or aesthetics without necessarily checking its safety values. It is estimated that in the United States alone last year, around 190,000 toy related accidents occurred requiring hospital treatment for children under the age of 15. The AAO is keen to stress just how upsetting and traumatic any accident can be, but that eye related issues, of which there can be many, can leave a much longer lasting scar, with more serious incidents leading to children suffering permanent vision loss in what can be avoidable circumstances.
So what are the top 5 safety tips?
- Try to purchase toys WITHOUT sharp or projectile parts.
- Keep an eye on activities. If you think the game or toy has the potential to harm, make sure you are extra vigilant.
- If you are buying sports related presents, make sure that any racquet, ball or bat is accompanied by the relevant and recommended eye wear. One notable sport being that of the highly physical game of squash due to speed and force that the ball can move around court, potentially threatening the eyes permanently should an accident occur.
- Make sure you buy games and toys designed for your child's age group. We hear of many parents who ignore ratings and warnings in relation to appropriate ages for videos games and so on, but age recommendations are also present on most products indicating whether the toy may have parts which could cause injury if in the hands of younger children.
- If you have multiple children from differing age groups playing together, make sure that those of a younger age don't play with toys older boys and girls may have.