This way, the toy expresses
its own importance as a tool for the development of children,
and we should highlight its enormous potential for the stimulation
of all the types of intelligence.
EPILOGUE
Playing is the first and
main activity of children, and even, an obligation for them. For
that reason they should be specifically thought for them and they
should follow a series of safety rules that are not chosen at
random, but only after a long study carried out by experts.
From the tin-toy until our
days, the evolution of safety in toys has been constant and even,
in some aspects, spectacular. The use of new materials or special
designs, among other measures, tries to ensure that the children’s
game is, above all, safe.
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CRAWLING
CROCODILLE BOAT
18 months + |
The Spanish Council of Ministers
of June 30, 1990 approved the Real Decree that confirms the adoption
in Spain of Guideline 88/378 of the Council of the European Communities,
on toy safety. In its Annex II, this Real Ordinance details the
main risks to be avoided in the production of the toys and in
the materials they are made with, taking into account their use
and the age of the children who are going to play with them.
The Real Decree classifies risks
in five main groups: physical and mechanical, chemical, electric,
hygiene and radioactivity. A small review of the main analysed
aspects will allow us to focus on the most important points of
the toy safety.
When it comes to physical and
mechanical properties, the confirmation of the mechanical resistance
of toys is required for each of their parts, to avoid wounds caused
by their break or deformation. It also stresses the derived risks
of borders and corners of the toys. In this section the rules
are specially demanding when it refers to toys for children under
36 months.
With regard to inflammability
the conditions that toys and their composition materials should
complete are listed. This way, in the event of contact with the
fire the flame must fade when the toy is withdrawn from the flame,
and, in the event of burning, it must happen slowly and with little
speed of propagation of the flame.
To avoid the risk of inflammability,
the us of celluloids is not allowed, neither materials with a
hairy surface that flame up when brought near to a flame. On the
other hand, toys should not contain gases, inflammable substances
or liquids or susceptible of becoming so when in contact with
other elements.
In the section of chemical properties,
the ruling specifies: "toys will be designed and manufactured
so that their ingestion, inhalation, contact with the skin, nose
or eyes does not present risks for health or danger of wounds."
A series of limitations in the
use of the lead, antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium,
mercury and selenium are listed.
As far as hygiene and radioactivity
are concerned, toys should be conceived and manufactured so that
they can be easily cleaned to avoid infection risks and illnesses.
Besides, they should not contain elements or radioactive substances
in a harmful proportion for health.
But we always have to bear in
mind that the safety of a toy does not depend exclusively on its
conception, design and production. A fundamental factor in toy
safety is the correct election, taking into account the age and
the children's intellectual capacity.