Common risks and suggestions in children's toy inspection and testing!

Toys are hailed as "children's closest companions." However, some dangerous toys with potential safety hazards constantly threaten children's health and safety. What are the main quality issues encountered in children's toy product quality inspections, and how can they be prevented?

Eliminate defects and protect children's safety

As a major manufacturing country, China's toys and other children's products are exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world. 80% of toys in the European market and 70% of toys in the US market come from China.

What should be done if a product has defects in its design or production? Since August 27, 2007, with the promulgation and implementation of the "Regulations on the Recall Management of Children's Toys," the "Measures for the Management of the Recall of Defective Consumer Products," and the "Interim Regulations on the Management of the Recall of Consumer Products," the defective product recall system has played an increasingly important role in protecting children's health, enhancing corporate product safety awareness, and improving the government's product safety supervision mechanism.

The same is true internationally. Currently, many countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and Australia, have established defective consumer product recall systems, recalling large numbers of defective consumer products from the market each year to protect consumers from potential harm.

"Whether in China or in developed countries like the EU and the US, they all attach great importance to child protection and have extremely strict quality supervision over children's toys."

Common Risks and Recommendations for Children's Toy Testing

Unlike general consumer goods, the users of children's toys have special physiological and behavioral characteristics, such as weak self-protection ability, physiological characteristics that are very different from adults, rapid growth and development, and a love of exploring and learning new things.

"Children's use of toys is essentially a process of exploring and understanding the world. They often do not use them in the way designed or expected by adults. Therefore, special usage scenarios must be fully considered in the design and production process to prevent product harm to children."

Common risks in children's toy testing are mainly concentrated in the following aspects:

1. Mechanical physical safety <br>Mainly manifested as small parts falling off, puncture or scratching, suffocation risk, entanglement, crushing injury, ejection injury, falling or hitting, noise hazards, magnet hazards, etc.
"According to statistics and analysis, the greatest risk of mechanical physical injuries comes from small parts that are prone to falling off, accounting for 30% to 40%."

What are small parts that are easy to fall off?
Buttons, marbles, small ornaments, and accessories all fall into this category. If these small parts become detached, they can easily be swallowed or inserted into a child's nostrils, posing a risk of foreign body ingestion or even choking. If these small parts are magnetic, swallowing them could cause further harm.
Previously, the European Union issued a consumer warning on a certain brand of magnetic toys produced in China, because the toys contained small magnetic parts or balls, which could cause suffocation if swallowed or inhaled by children.
Regarding the physical safety of machinery, manufacturers are advised to strictly control product quality and select carefully selected materials during the manufacturing phase. Due to the inherent characteristics of certain materials, they are prone to the risk of falling apart after processing, so special attention should be paid.

2. Combustion safety <br>Textiles are widely used in children's toys, and the combustion safety of such products requires special attention.
The main problems include: burning too quickly, resulting in children not having enough time to take shelter; PVC plastic film burning at an unstable speed and easily producing chemical liquids; loose soft-filled toys burning too quickly; bubbles accumulating in textiles; and burning smoke producing chemical hazards.
In this regard, it is recommended that: "During the production process, attention should not only be paid to material selection, but also the careful use of flame retardants. Many companies deliberately add flame retardants to meet combustion safety requirements, but some flame retardants have chronic chemical toxicity, so we should avoid neglecting one aspect while focusing on the other."

Chemical Safety <br>Chemical hazards are also a common risk in children's toys. Chemical substances in toys can easily migrate into children's bodies through saliva, sweat, and other substances, posing a health risk. Compared to physical harm, chemical hazards tend to be chronic and cumulative, making them more easily overlooked. However, they can have serious consequences, ranging from weakened immunity and lack of energy to organ damage.
Common hazardous chemicals include certain elements (such as arsenic, selenium, antimony, mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and barium) and certain chemical compounds (such as plasticizers, formaldehyde, banned azo dyes, bisphenol A, and flame retardants). In addition, other chemicals that can cause cancer, allergies, or mutations also require strict control.
To address these risks, manufacturers are advised to pay particular attention to the sources of raw materials such as paint and soft rubber. They should select specialized material suppliers and avoid using non-toy materials in production. Furthermore, they must strictly control purchased accessories and strictly prevent contamination throughout the entire production process.

4. Electrical safety <br>In recent years, with the iteration of products and the application of new styles and new technologies, electric toys have become increasingly popular among parents and children, and the resulting electrical safety hazards have become increasingly prominent.
Electrical safety issues primarily manifest as overheating and abnormal operation, insufficient electrical strength, insufficient mechanical strength, and structural defects. These can lead to four types of hazards: first, overheating of the toy, causing burns or fire; second, insufficient electrical strength, leading to short circuits, leakage, or even burns; third, insufficient mechanical strength, reducing product safety; and fourth, structural defects, leading to problems such as reverse battery connection, short circuits, and battery detachment.
To address such risks, manufacturers are advised to conduct professional electronic circuit safety design and purchase qualified electronic components to prevent possible injuries to children.