Gifts / Sports & Toys

In recent years, China's toy retail sales have maintained a trend of increasing year by year. According to data from the China Toys and Baby Products Association, the domestic toy market in China has increased from 55.60 billion yuan in 2016 to 77.97 billion yuan in 2020. At the same time, cases of producing and selling low-quality children's toys have occurred frequently, and some even endanger the health and safety of children.

The "Analysis of Complaints Accepted by the National Consumers Association in 2020" shows that in 2020, the National Consumers Association accepted a total of 4,847 complaints about children's toys, nearly twice the number of complaints in 2019. The safety-related issues mainly include mechanical and physical damage (such as small toy parts falling off, toys with dangerous sharp edges, etc.), chemical damage (such as illegal addition of prohibited substances, content of certain elements exceeding national standards, etc.), applicable age and actual toy Injuries caused by misuse and misplay of non-toy products.

The China Consumer Association recently issued consumer reminders, suggesting that parents perform their duties as guardians, supervise and guide children in the correct use of toys, and cultivate children's correct consumption concepts and safety awareness; toy operators should continuously improve product safety standards, improve production technology, and strengthen self-discipline. Create a safer and more assured toy consumption environment for children from the source.

"Fun" is not safe

Although some products may seem "fun", they are not toys and have a higher safety risk. The China Consumers Association pointed out that there are three more common products.

One is the laser pointer. Laser pointers are generally used in teaching, tour guides, field trips, construction sites, firefighting and disaster relief and other places. If used improperly, it will cause great harm. For example, direct exposure to the eyes may cause temporary or permanent vision damage or even blindness; if exposure to a combustible material for too long, it may also cause a fire.

The second is an electric balance car. According to experts, electric balance bikes are neither children's toys nor sports equipment. If such products are mistaken for children's toys, it is easy to ignore the risks. Especially young children, because of their unsound balance ability and lack of corresponding risk prevention awareness, safety accidents are very likely to occur during riding.

The third is the water spirit. It is a kind of round bead-shaped water-absorbing resin, also known as foam beads, water-absorbing bombs, etc. It is widely used in potted plants for water retention and interior decoration. Some businesses sell it as a toy, or even use it as a projectile for a catapult toy. Because of the bright colors, younger children are likely to mistake it for candy and swallow it, thereby endangering their lives. In addition, if the fragments of the water spirit stick to the fingers, when rubbing the eyes with the hand, these fragments will also scratch the eyeball, causing infection and even blindness.

The "applicable age" sign is very important

The second batch of typical cases of "Iron Fist" operation announced by the State Administration of Market Supervision in 2021 showed that the market supervision bureau of Dongshan County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province discovered during the law enforcement process that a bell ball toy was not marked with an applicable age range and descriptive age mark. It does not meet the national mandatory standards of GB6675.2-2014 "Toy Safety Part 2 Mechanical and Physical Properties", and the regulatory authority has imposed administrative penalties on it in accordance with the law.

The China Consumers Association pointed out that the "applicable age" mark is very important. Parents must pay attention to the age-appropriate age marked on the toy package when buying toys, and choose toys that match the age of their children. When buying toys for younger children, pay attention to avoiding the following categories: First, brightly colored toys, such as "mud" toys. These toys generally contain substances that are harmful to the body. If they enter the body, they will endanger the body. Health; the second is toys that contain fragrance. The fragrance generally comes from additives and plasticizers. If you play with these toys for a long time, you may inhale a certain amount of harmful substances, which will affect your body's development. The third is toys that are small or contain detachable parts. Such toys or parts in toys are easy to be eaten by children, and there are risks of suffocation; fourth, toys with sharp points, children are easy to stab eyes or scratch the body when playing; fifth, shooting, balloons , Toys with ropes and other potential safety hazards, such as "net celebrity" balloons, are prone to deflagration once they come into contact with high-temperature heat sources or open flames.

Inferior products are harmful

At present, there are some products in the children's toy market that do not meet the national toy safety standards. Some of these products are "three-no" products with no production date, no manufacturer, and no quality certificate, and some are inferior products with toxic and harmful substances or some element content exceeding the standard.

The Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision Bureau conducted a random inspection on the quality of 1,035 children's toy products from 651 companies in 2020 and found that 214 products produced by 184 companies were unqualified.

The second batch of typical cases of "Iron Fist" action announced by the State Administration of Market Supervision in 2021 shows that in the supervision and random inspection of the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, a "BB called a bath" toy inspection concluded that the plasticizer did not comply with GB6675.1-2014. Toy Safety Part 1: Basic Specifications. If the plasticizer content exceeds the limit requirement, children may enter the body through the skin, esophagus or respiratory tract through long-term exposure, endangering their health.

To prevent inferior toys from harming children, the China Consumers Association recommends that parents buy toys from regular malls or reputable online stores, and pay attention to keeping the proof of purchase.

In addition, the China Consumers Association reminded that when buying children's toys, you must look for CCC certification. At present, the state implements CCC certification for three kinds of children's products, including baby carriage products, toys, and restraint systems for children's occupants of motor vehicles. Toy products within the scope of the CCC certification catalog require CCC certification, including electric toys (including electric toys, video toys, sound and light toys, heat source toys, etc.), plastic toys (including doll toys, plastic projectile toys, "climbing toys, etc." Mat", etc.), metal toys (including static metal toys, motorized metal toys, and projectile toys containing metal materials, etc.), and riding vehicle toys (including toy bicycles, electric strollers, etc.).