How to Assure Your Children's Bath Toys Are Safe?

Answer 1

The problem with bath toys is that they spend much time in contact with an infant's mouth or skin. They can contain BPA, PVC, and phthalates, chemicals whose safety is still often debated. But it's possible to assure safety and quality if you can only bear a few things in mind:

1. Seek an assurance that the named chemicals are absent. Ideally, this will be shown on the packaging, otherwise companies respond promptly to such inquiries. A good vendor will actively avoid these substances.
2. Newborns perceive only black and white during their first few months of light, so brightly colored objects are less likely to attract their attention.
3. Remember your baby's personality: are they oriented more to color, sound or texture?
4. On a purchasing mission, bring your baby and gauge their reaction from facial expression, gestures and noises. As much as possible, let the infant decide.
5. Make sure toys are pliable and simply-made. More elaborate features will often be superfluous, and loud noises or vivid colors may actually startle the little one. Avoid toys with small parts.
6. Cheaper options are available: yogurt containers, bottles, funnels, bowls, wooden spoons and sponges. Washcloths can be fun, especially if puppet-shaped, but be sure to wash them frequently or bacteria and other things will grow in them. Colanders leaking water provide quite a bit of amusement.
7. Shells and rocks can be used, and you also have the fun of collecting them. They can be counted, stacked or put inside other things, and shells can pour.
8. Wooden boats provide an eternity of fun. If you have two, you can use one and let the other dry completely. The wood should be waxed or oiled periodically. Beware mildew. A minimalist would simply use balsa wood, which floats, perhaps cut into interesting shapes.

As a last resort, you can buy dedicated bath toys, which you can find in abundance on the internet. Spielstabil is a highly-praised German company whose products follow European standards, which are more stringent than U.S. ones. This information is all you need to be confident of safety and entertainment at bath-time.