Well,
here I go again, guessing at what you mean. I know plenty of people on
this site do not speak English like a native, so I give it the old
college try.
Dander is the stuff that comes off your head when you have dandruff.
Since toys normally are not alive and cannot shed dander, I think you
meant danger. In that context, the term "prevent" is not used
correctly, but I get the idea.
The best way to prevent toys from being a danger to your child is to
always choose age-appropriate toys. Now, the American toy industry
makes a great big deal out of marking packages with the appropriate age
for children, but when I was a kid, my parents and I agreed that these
age markings were hopelessly childish. If they said "ages 5 to 8," for
example, we knew it was already too limited for me by the time I got to
five. I mean, Candyland was labeled as if kids didn't learn to read
until they were like 6 or 7!
So a rule of thumb is this: Before two, don't buy anything they can't
put in their mouths, nor anything that can come apart, where a piece
small enough to swallow would be the result. No very sharp edges until
they have demonstrated an ability to handle things properly and not cut
themselves.
As to breaking toys, and the jagged edges of a broken piece, I would not
give anything brittle enough to break like that to a child below four
or five, until they learn not to smash and break things, even in a
temper.
Basically, if you can imagine the child taking the toy to bed with him
or her and not being injured by rolling over on it, then it's OK for a
kid under 5.
After that, the only things that need to be monitored more carefully are
chemicals like paints or chemistry sets, and things which have sharp
edges. Children must be taught how to use knives and things, as
appropriate, but you don't leave them alone with them until they are
past the "clowning around" stage of development. For some kids, that's a
loooonnnng time coming: maybe 20 or 30 years!
No comments:
Post a Comment