When shopping this holiday season, it is important to understand product liability issues. These issues can affect everything from cars to medication to the toys you put under your tree this holiday season.
Thus, it is important to keep some information in mind when you hit the stores for your shopping spree. Just a few tips can help keep your child safer.
What are product liability sources?
Today Parenting Team takes a look at defective toys and product liability this holiday season. First, know that product liabilities can manifest in many different ways, from design to manufacturing to marketing. In short, a toy may suffer from defects at a design level, meaning the idea itself has dangerous flaws. Flaws at a manufacturing level mean the production causes parts to be dangerous, and flaws at a marketing level means it lacks needed safety labels, instructions or warnings.
Things to keep in mind when shopping
When shopping for a child’s toy, you should keep several things in mind accordingly. First, aim for newer toys. Old toys do not conform to the most recent safety standards, meaning it could have dangerous parts. Try to avoid things with coin or button batteries too, which pose a choking hazard and can damage your child’s stomach.
Watch out for toys listed as defective by CPSC to know what you should avoid buying. On top of that, keep your eye peeled for toys and products evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials. This generally ensures that your products will live up to a certain standard of safety. You can also test products at home for sturdiness, such as applying pressure to plastic toys to ensure they do not break easily. Try to report any instances of faulty product or injuries to your child in order to help catch issues early, too.
