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“Toys and Children’s Products” Test Category – Determination of Play Value of a Toy

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 It is stipulated, in a number of test standards for toys that any toy or article intended for use by children under 3 years of age should not present a choking, aspiration or ingestion hazard because of small parts. The toy itself, or a component which is designed to be removed from the toy, or any part which is broken off during normal use and reasonably foreseeable abuse testing can be considered as small part if the toy presents a play value for children under 3 years of age. Hence any toy labelled for children 3 years and up will not automatically be exempted from the small parts requirement, if the toy is found to have play value for children under 3 years of age. This document is intended to provide guidance on the determination of play value of a toy. The HKAS Executive would like to acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Christine Nelson, Compliance Officer, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in providing and allowing the use of photos of toys.

2 CHARACTERISTICS OF TOYS

2.1 When determining the play value of a toy, due consideration must be given to the mental and physical development of a child in various age ranges. A toy that has play value for children under 3 years of age will have all or some of the following characteristics.

(a) Size and weight

The toy will be small and light enough for the child to grasp and carry.

(b) Appearance

The toy may look silly, cute or cartoon like with bright and contrasting colours but it should not be very realistic.

The toy may produce simple sounds that are interesting but not necessarily realistic. The noises should not be loud or frightening.

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(d) Movement

The toy may have parts that move in an interesting way.

(e) Skill in playing

The toy may allow the child to practice the skills that he or she is learning. Such practice should be presented in an interesting or challenging way but must not be too frustrating.

2.2 The following is a list of toys illustrated with photos that are considered to be suitable for children under 3 years of age.

1. Squeeze toys Photo 1 2. Teethers Photo 2 3. Crib toys Photo 3 4. Pull toys Photos 4 and 5 5. Push toys Photo 6 6. Blocks Photo 7 7. Stacking toys Photos 8 and 9 8. Bathtub toy Photo 10 9. Sand play Photo 11 10. Stick horse Photo 12 11. Chime balls Photo 13 12. Rattles Photo 14 13. Jacks-in-the-box Photo 15 14. Stuffed toy Photo 16 15. Preschool games Photos 17, 18 and 19 16. Riding toy Photo 20 17. Doll Photo 21 18. Cartoon figure Photo 22 19. Bean bag dolls Photo 23 20. Transportation toys Photos 24, 25, 26 and 27

2.3 This list is not meant to be exhaustive and does not include every type of toy that has play value for children under 3 years of age. For more information on the characteristics and play values of various types of toys, reference can be made to the latest edition of “Age Determination Guidelines: Relating Children’s Ages To Toy Characteristics and Play Behavior” published by CPSC.

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3 DETERMINATION OF PLAY VALUE

3.1 Toys could be so designed that some of their characteristics may appeal to children under 3 years of age while other characteristics may appeal to children above 3 years of age. For determination of play values of such toys, a comparison table can be used. The table will consist of two columns, one for the listing of characteristics appealing to children under age 3 and the other for the listing of characteristics appealing to children age 3 and older. The play value of the toy could then be determined by evaluating characteristics listed in these two columns. It may occur that most of the characteristics of a toy would appeal to children under age 3 and there are only one or two characteristics that they could not use of appreciate. In this case the toy should not be classified as suitable for children under age 3 right away without considering the effect of the outstanding characteristics. In some cases, the classification of the play value of the toy is determined largely by just one of these outstanding characteristics. This is illustrated by the following three examples.

3.2 Example 1: Small baby doll

A small baby doll is shown in Photo 28.

The characteristics of the doll are summarised in the following table.

Characteristics Characteristics appealing to children appealing to children under age 3 age 3 or above

1. small size (125 mm tall) 1. movable arms and legs 2. fibre hair 3. clothing with velcro fastener (shown in Photo 29)

3.3 From the table we see that most of the characteristics of the doll appeal to children under age 3. There is one feature, the movable arms and legs which is not readily appreciated by children under age 3. But this feature would not distract the child from the toy. So this doll should be classified as having play value for children under age 3.

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3.4 Example 2: Large baby doll

A large baby doll is shown in Photo 30.

The characteristics of the doll are summarised in the following table.

Characteristics Characteristics appealing to children appealing to children under age 3 age 3 or above

1. soft body 1. large size (380 mm tall) 2. fibre hair

In this case the soft body and fibre hair of the doll would appeal to children under age 3. But the doll is of such a large size that children under age 3 will have difficulty in handling it, and for this reason the doll is to be classified as not having play value for children under age 3.

3.5 Example 3: Toy car

A toy car is shown in Photo 31.

The characteristics of the car are summarised in the following table.

Characteristics Characteristics appealing to children appealing to children under age 3 age 3 or above

1. small size (75 mm) 1. wind-up mechanism 2. can be rolled easily by hand

3.6 Observed from the table, although a child under age 3 will have difficulty in using the wind-up mechanism, the fact that the car can also be rolled easily by hand will appeal to the child. So the correct classification for this car would be to have play value for children under age 3.

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4 TOYS WITH TYPICAL PLAY VALUE

4.1 The following examples of toys, which because of their appearances, have typical play values :-

(a) the two dolls as shown in Photo 32 are both considered to have no play value for children under age 3 because their appearances are too realistic;

(b) the toy cars with unrealistic appearances as shown in photos 33 and 34 are classified as being of play value to children under age 3;

(c) the toy car with realistic appearance as shown in Photo 35 is considered to have no play value for children under age 3.

HKAS Executive July 2006

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Photo 1 Squeeze Toys

Photo 2 Teethers HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 3 Crib Toys

Photo 4 Pull Toy

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Photo 5 Pull Toy

Photo 6 Push Toys

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Photo 7 Blocks

Photo 8 Stacking Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 9 Stacking Toy

Photo 10 Bathtub Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 11 Sand Play

Photo 12 Stick Horse

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Photo 13 Chime Balls

Photo 14 Rattles HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 15 Jacks-in-the-Box

Photo 16 Stuffed Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 17 Pre-School Game

Photo 18 Pre-School Game HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 19 Pre-School Game

Photo 20 Riding Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 21 Doll

Photo 22 Cartoon Figure HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 23 Bean Bag Dolls

Photo 24 Transportation Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 25 Transportation Toy

Photo 26 Transportation Toy HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 27 Transportation Toy

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Examples of Toys with Typical Play Values

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Photo 28 Small Baby Doll

Photo 29 Small Doll, Showing Velcro Fastener HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 30 Large Baby Doll

Photo 31 Toy Car with Wind-up Mechanism HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 32 Dolls of Realistic Appearance

Photo 33 Train with an animal driver HOKLAS Information Notes No. 1

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Photo 34 Funny looking truck

Photo 35 Realistic-looking car