The Department of Health in Western Visayas warned the public to avoid buying toys that could post danger to children, a government press release said yesterday.

“Buy safe toys for kids,” DOH-6 director Susana Madarieta advised.

She asked the public to buy toys that are safe and non-toxic, durable and well-constructed.

Parents must check labels on the packaging and observe precautions appearing in the labels. It should be suitable to the child’s age under adult supervision. Dispose plastic packaging that can cause suffocation, Madarieta added.

She also said they have dispatched personnel of the Food and Drug Authority to conduct compliance monitoring and surveillance of all the toy products being displayed in all the establishments and markets around the region, and has ordered the recall and disposal of non-compliant toys, the press release said.

Madarieta reminded gift-givers that children under three years old should not be given small toys like a ball with a diameter of 1.75 inches or less to prevent choking and those that easily break into small parts or pieces (glass or brittle plastics).

Toys with small detachable parts or pieces with sharp points and edges; with electrical parts and with parts put together by straight pins, sharp wires or nails that are exposed and easily detached, must also be kept away from children, Madarieta also said in the press release.*

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