This Toy Story Is Too Serious
Illawarra Mercury
Friday December 9, 2005
THE detection of 76 unsafe toys in shops across the state is of particular concern at this time of the year.
It's comforting to know the NSW Office of Fair Trading carries out a Christmas produce survey, but one wonders how these toys keep bobbing up on shelves.The survey was of 260 stores across the state, in over 75 centres.Among the dangerous items was a stationery set with a box-cutter-type knife and 12 unsafe projectile toys.What should be of more concern were the unsafe bike helmets and swimming vests.While big retailers showed a high level of compliance with manufacturing rules, the cheaper shops, the so-called $2 shops, were among the worst offenders.Australia's high level of importation makes it hard to police unscrupulous manufacturers, which lumps most of the responsibility of ensuring children are safe on retailers and parents.The temptation, specially at Christmas when budgets are stretched, is to keep an eye out for cheap gifts, particularly stocking fillers.These survey results, however, should make people more vigilant. Cutting costs is one thing, but not at the risk of a child's injury or death.
© 2005 Illawarra Mercury