Costco Connection - November 2006

Safety

first

TOYS CAN provide children (and adults) with untold hours of delight. But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (www. cpsc.gov) estimates that about 150,000 children are treated for toy-related injuries each year. The commission recommends the following simple yet vital toy safety tips, to help assure that the toys given to children this holiday season will be safe ones.

For children 3 and younger, avoid toys with small parts, which can cause choking.

Select toys to suit the age, abilities, skills and interest level of the intended child.

For children under 8, avoid toys with sharp edges and electric toys with heating parts.

Look for labels with age and safety advice.

To learn more about toy safety, call the commission toll-free at 1-800-638-2772.

—WF

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real-life Tips for buying the right toys this holiday season toy storyBy Will Fifield

MIKE CRESS Y

EVER WALK DOWN a toy aisle to buy a gift for one or more children and become completely dumbfounded? Even if you know the children really well—even if you are buying something for your own kids—it can be a daunting task. You want to buy that “just right” gift, but you’re overwhelmed with the abundance of cool games, gadgets, dolls and other stuff that you never even knew existed.

To help Costco members avoid this scenario, The Connection asked some toy-industry experts for advice.

but he says carefully considering this question will steer you toward important considerations, such as age and gender appropriateness and if the toy in question accomplishes the goal you had in mind when buying it. Does it educate? Does it entertain?

Marianne Szymanski, a Costco member and publisher of Toy Tips Magazine ( www.toytips.com) recommends making a list, complete with each child’s name, age, skills and interests. Szymanski, whose favorite toy as a child was her Raggedy Ann doll, says the list will help you find the right gift, especially if you have to resort to Plan B because an item you had in mind is unavailable.

Have a goal

Tim Walsh, author of Timeless Toys (Andrews McMeel Publishing,

2005), who, as a child, loved spinning doughnuts on his Big Wheel, says successful toy shopping begins before you leave the house.

“The key question to ask is, Who are you buying for?” Walsh says. His advice may seem obvious,

Toy tip: Dig hard to find the child’s real interests, and buy gifts accordingly.

Quiz the parents

If you aren’t very often around the children you are buying toys for, you’ll need to do a little homework to learn about their likes and dislikes. Costco member Stevanne “Dr. Toy” Auerbach (www.drtoy. com), a syndicated columnist and author of many books about buying toys, says quizzing the child’s parents is the best place to start.