Magnetic toy regulations

[Ruthierhyme]

New magnetic toy regulation for retailers came into effect on July 21st 2008 and can help anyone updating their policies or needing information to help inform safety procedures / risk assessments or for their notice board content ..

Magnets in toys - package regulation from Businesslink

[Chelltune]

Thanks Ruth, doesn't apply to my business but is worth mentioning to Knot Just Jigs, Anara, etc as they are retailers who sell magnetic toys.

[Ruthierhyme]

Yes, from the looks of it there's been quite a product recall. It's the sort of news that we'd use to help make sure a whole group decision was reached prior to purchasing / replacing toys etc and for official use to note/show that the awareness has been taken. Raises an interesting discussion for fridge magnets I would think !

[hazel lol]

How does this affect toys used within a setting. Should we be looking to replace existing toys to make sure they are safe. Earlier in the year Mattel, a large and trusted manufacturer, recalled many many toys and remanufactured toys in a safer way. We use magnetic sticks and balls - should these be replaced with new ones so that, as a setting, we have backup if something should go wrong?

[Ruthierhyme]

Hiya, having a robust approach to risk assessment helps ensure the Children stay safe and everyone is well informed..

Do you have the opportunity to look at what age group has access to the sticks and balls, if it's supervised or open access - what brand the toy is, when it was purchased. What size the magnets are - if any have ever fallen out - or if it's possible to manually take them out.

What staff and parents think of the toy being available .. and in light of the concerns ?

What the effect on practice and provision of play activities would be if they were withdrawn or remained available ?

There is USA product recall information on this page of Megabrands.com - I beleive design alterations were made back in 2006 and this is the new warning system in place on the packaging :Product information. Geomag toy information/construction - I'm not completely sure if Geomag SA are still trading. Magnext was launched in July this year by MB, & as with others is aimed at Children 6 yrs and over . It's been developed in connection with the safety, testing and certification services of Intertek - The Star - Canada

I don't envy you making decisions on this it covers a huge amount of safety issues, relationships, views, opinions and operational procedures..
Hope it all helps

[hazel lol]

I think I'm going to take a print out of the link into work and ask the questions. From the 1st link the new regs seem to stop at the retailer and it is up to the consumer from the information now on the box to decide whether it is safe or not.
I have personal issues with this activity anyway - even though it is always supervised. Personally I feel we should repurchase them as they may now be manufactured in a way where there is less likelihood of the magnets falling out than before (like Mattel seem to have done). Then our purchase can be noted in the policies and if parents have an issue with this activity, they can let us know.

[Ruthierhyme]

Sounds good. If you send out any information via a newsletter or look for feedback/input through a survey or questionaire would very much like to know how it all develops ..

xx

[rubycat]

Practical advice for business, a page provided by businesslink.gov.co.uk allows you to fill in a personal checklist with a pdf you can then down load. They also give you all the links to go to for more in depth information. I fould this invaluable for CCLD 2 unit 207 CCLD 3 302/305 but would almost certainly help with CCLD 4.
Forgot to mention that I am talking about the most up to date regulations needed.

[hazel lol]

Hi
Just thought I'd update.

Referred this back to work. No one had heard of this new regulation. Supervisor felt the same as me. Spoke to chairperson and she advised that if we felt something was not safe we should dispose of it and put on wish list if necessary. Gave her copy of link and she will look into addressing the policy side of this.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[Ruthierhyme]

good for you I'm going to have a look around for magnet functioning toys that don't appear to pose this type of risk, feel free to drop a link in if you come across anything that would replace the sticks & balls in the construction/science play area.

xx