Health and safety reign supreme at Toy Fair in NYC

At the Toy Fair in New York City, aisles of booths are packed with the latest toys. The big guys like Hasbro and Mattel are here of course, but also represented are many smaller and newer companies. Some of the toys that caught my eye were Shnoozles (plush toys that help kids go to sleep), Tofu the Vegan Zombie (a "friendly zombie" who prefers grains to meat) Ugly Dolls (the "it" plush dolls popular with celebrity kids), Snacker Tracker (a magnet for your fridge that allows you to track your child's daily food intake), Blunders (a board game that helps kids mind their manners), Catnap Kitties, (a soft-bodied kitten that purrs like a real cat and can be a good option for kids with allergies), and Slumbersong Baby, (a doll for infants that plays a lullaby and is infused with a lavender scent that can calm fussy children).

A common sight throughout the show are signs that say  "Lead Free" and "Made in the USA" and "Phthalate Free" (noting toys that lack a chemical compound used to make plastic flexible). Certainly safety is front and center and can even be a selling point.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a booth here, too. I stopped by and checked out some of the items that U.S. Customs had recently seized, including recalled Aqua Dots, fake Dora the Explorer dolls, and scarily realistic-looking toy automatic weapons missing the required orange ring at the end of their barrels that helps police officers know that they're not the real thing.

I also listened in on the Toy Industry Association's presentation of "The Story of Toy Safety." Did you know that the first widespread toy recall happened in the mid-1950s, when some knockoff coonskin caps--a la Davy Crockett--were found to be a fire hazard? The TIA presentation cited "product misuse" as the major cause of many so-called toy-related injuries today, and emphasized the need for toy manufacturers and parents to "think like kids."

What's ahead for 2008?
•    A new conformity assessment program to ensure that all toy manufacturers are following consistent manufacturing and testing guidelines.
•    A new safety assurance mark is under consideration that participating manufacturers could display on their wares.
•    A public information campaign, including the launch of a consumer Web site, www.toyinfo.org.

--Desiree Calamari, web associate editor