The good, the bad...

OCEAN CITY TODAY/LISA CAPITELLI Fielding Huseth, consumer advocate for Maryland PIRG, holds a helmet that contains lead during a press conference Tuesday at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. Maryland PIRG, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental protection, consumer rights and good government, released its 24th annual Trouble In Toyland report Nov. 24, warning consumers of possible hidden toy hazards. (Nov. 27, 2009) Thanksgiving weekend — primarily Black Friday — is the prime time for people to begin their holiday shopping. Two annual, recently published reports by different organizations have been geared toward helping parents and guardians make safe choices when shopping for children this holiday season.

The National Parenting Center released its 19th annual Holiday Seal of Approval report last week. For two months, more than 500 educators, parents and children tested submitted products, such as toys, games, books, videos and educational material currently on store shelves.

David Katzner, president of The National Parenting Center, said in excess of 1,000 products marketed toward parents and children are submitted annually. Testing is done three times a year: fall, spring and winter (holiday report), at different centers across the country, which are changed annually to capture diverse demographics. Products are submitted from just about every company, from the biggest to smallest, Katzner said.

Participants fill out questionnaires for each product and evaluate the level of desirability, sturdiness, interactive stimulation, education value, price, packaging, design, age suitability and easy to follow instructions. Each product is judged on its own merit from the consumer's perspective, he added.

"We're looking for one answer: is this product something you would buy for your own child or for someone else, and would you recommend it," Katzner said.

The Seal of Approval is "ultimately a peer-to-peer review program to recognize and highlight products and services that have been met with a 'thumbs up' by parents," according to a press release from organization.

The 2009 Holiday winners list includes 112 products given the Seal of Approval. The list and a description of each product can be found on the company's Web site, www.tnpc.com.

"That's a pretty good number. I'm pleased to see that people are picking up their game in this economy," he said. "Hopefully, people will use the report as a guide, particularly as we head into the shopping season. I hope people take advantage of all the work the testers have done because they are going to find some real gems out there on store shelves."

The National Parenting Center, founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization formed to help guide parents on a variety of subjects, Katzner said.

While Katzner said there are some treasures to be found, the Maryland Public Interest Research Group announced Tuesday in its 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report, a variety of children's products that do not make the cut.

Maryland PIRG, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to environmental protection, consumer rights and good government, released its nationwide survey to warn consumers of possible hidden toy hazards and to provide guidelines for parents purchasing toys for small children, as well as examples of toys that may pose safety hazards. The group also launched a new interactive tool accessible from mobile phones or computers at http://toysafety. mobi or www.toysafety.net to help toy buyers avoid common hazards, said Fielding Huseth, consumer advocate for Maryland PIRG. Consumers can also report dangerous toys on these sites.

PIRG toy safety reports have led to more than 130 corrective actions in the last 24 years, Huseth said.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 82,000 children younger than 5 were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in 2008. Nineteen died.

The PIRG report focuses on several categories of toy dangers including toys that pose choking hazards, are excessively loud and contain toxic chemicals such as lead and phthalates.

CHOKING: Choking on small parts, balls and balloons is the leading cause of toyrelated deaths and injuries, Huseth said. According to the report, between 1990 and 2008, approximately 196 children died after choking on a toy or toy part.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the sale of toys containing small parts that were intended to be used by children younger than 3. A small part is defined as anything that can fit inside a clear choke test cylinder, which has a diameter of 1.25 inches and a depth of 1 to 2.25 inches.

Toys for 3- to 6-year-olds that have small parts are required by federal law to carry a warning label.

Huseth encourages parents to use an empty toilet paper roll, which is 1.75 inches in diameter, to see if toys could cause their child to choke. If the toy fits inside the roll, it is a possible choking hazard and inappropriate for children younger than 3.

Citing the report, Huseth said in 2009, 5.3 million children's products were removed from store shelves because they posed choking hazards.

LOUD TOYS: According to the report, approximately 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss. For toys used close to the ear, Huseth said the American Society for Testing and Materials adopted a voluntary acoustics standard, which set the loudness threshold for most toys at 85 decibels, and 65 decibels for products intended to be used close to the ear.

TOXIC CHEMICALS: Two of the toxic chemicals the report places emphasis on are lead and phthalates.

Lead poisoning affects the nervous system and can cause learning disabilities, lower IQ, delay mental and physical development and cause behavioral problems, Huseth said. If a child is exposed to high levels, it can even cause death.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act bans lead in toys and children's products, except in trace amounts in paint or coating and in toys, jewelry and other products used by children 12 years of age and younger, the report states. So far this year, approximately 1.4 million children's products were recalled by the CPSC for lead violations.

While conducting research for the report, PIRG found one product to contain lead in concentration of 384 parts per million, which Huseth said is four times higher than the legal standard.

Toys that contain more than 0.1 percent of the toxic chemical phthalates, which are used in plastics, are also banned by the CPSIA.

The full Trouble In Toyland report is available online at www.ToySafety.net.