With the holiday season approaching, several friends and family members have asked me for gift suggestions for my two daughters. There is certainly no shortage of items the girls have requested, but I want to make sure the toys are age appropriate, safe and free of product recalls before giving their wish lists to family.
Fortunately, the Toy Industry Association has put together two informative websites to help give parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, helpful shopping tips, recall information and toy suggestions to make this holiday season a safe and memorable one.
The Toy Industry Association (TIA) is the toy industry’s trade organization. The host an annual toy fair each February in New York, and lead American toy makers through the new toy safety testing laws and standards that must be met. And now, the TIA is reaching out to moms like us to help us understand how to buy safe (and fun) toys. The first website is Toy Info which has some interesting videos with many toy buying tips, ways to save money this holiday season, and even a place to sign up for toy recall information.
A second website, Toy Awards, showcases the top toys in 11 product categories that have been nominated for the 2010 Toy of the Year Awards (TOTY). Well-recognized as the “Oscars®” of the toy industry, the coveted awards program is celebrating its 10th anniversary. To celebrate, TIA is sharing for the first time its list of finalists with the general public. Check out this list of great toys to consider when buying a gift.
Happy Toy Hunting!
Good information. Toy standards do need to be improved. I’m glad to hear that efforts are being made.
If you’re tired of the toy route, you might check out Imagination Soup’s Educational Gift Guide. These are great products in music, science, writing, math and more for learning and fun.
http://imaginationsoup.net/2009/12/educational-holiday-gift-guide/
Cheers,
Melissa