President’s Letter – June 20, 2017: The Toy Association’s Summer of Safety

With summer vacation just around the corner, spreading awareness about safe outdoor play has been a key component of The Toy Association’s public education efforts.

We kicked off the “Safe Summertime Play” multimedia tour with Joan Lawrence, our “Toy Safety Mom,” appearing in broadcast news features in Hartford, CT and Baltimore, MD to share outdoor play safety tips with viewers. Our campaign extended to social media, with online influencers promoting our tips and garnering more than 58 million impressions on Facebook and Twitter. And The Toy Association’s safety advice was highlighted in a Q&A column with Lawrence published by Laurie Schacht, The Toy Insider Mom, on Huffpost. Throughout the rest of the summer, our tips will be published in community newspapers nationwide and shared in-person with online influencers and families attending two major events: The Toy Insider’s Sweet Suite in New York City and Big City Moms’ Biggest Family Shower Ever in LA.

The Toy Association’s summertime safety tips include the importance of wearing helmets and other safety gear when riding bikes or other ride-ons, and keeping toys out of kids’ reach and away from water when they’re not being used, so little ones aren’t tempted to play in or near water alone. And, as always, we underscore the necessity of adult supervision during play (whether indoors or outdoors) and reading and following the age-labeling on toys.

As members of the toy and play community, toy safety is on all our minds 365 days a year … But it’s equally important to educate parents and caregivers about keeping kids safe at play. Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, or otherwise involved in the business of play, I encourage you to share our toy safety tips, guidance for new parents, advice for toy shopping and selection, and much more – all of which can be found on The Toy Association’s consumer-facing resource for families, PlaySafe.org.

Working together, we can all ensure that every play date is both fun and safe.

All good wishes,

Steve Pasierb

spasierb@toyassociation.org

Follow me on Twitter @StevePasierb