Playing it Safe: Q&A with The Toy Safety Mom, Joan Lawrence

November 14, 2023 | As part of Toy Safety Awareness Month this November, Toy News Tuesday editors caught up with Joan Lawrence, The Toy Association™’s “Toy Safety Mom” and senior vice president of standards and regulatory affairs, about the Association’s proactive approach to toy safety and how members can help spread awareness.

In what ways does The Toy Association advocate for safe play on behalf of the toy industry?
The Toy Association has been a global leader in toy safety for decades – helping to lead the development of the very first comprehensive toy safety standard in the 1970s – and focusing efforts on advocacy, education, and outreach to ensure compliance and safe play. We advocate on behalf of members about safety and compliance issues, working with regulators and policymakers to ensure alignment of standards. We work year-round to ensure playtime is fun and safe – and to educate our members, such as through the new version of our online Safety Education Program and other fora, on the ever-changing laws, standards, and regulations in place to protect kids and families at play.

The Toy Association leads the multi-stakeholder committee that continually reviews and revises, as needed, the ASTM F963 Toy Safety Standard to ensure that it keeps pace with innovation in the marketplace; the risk-based mandatory federal standard is considered a “gold standard” for consumer product safety and includes the input of medical and child development experts, engineers, toxicologists, and other experts representing industry, government, retail, and consumer representatives. (A revised ASTM F963-23 standard was published last month and is undergoing its required 90-day review by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission before it is adopted as the new mandatory standard.)

Since it’s not enough that toys are made safely, we also focus efforts on consumer outreach, culminating during the busy holiday shopping season with Toy Safety Awareness Month in November. The Toy Association positions itself as a key resource for parents and caregivers on all things toy-safety-related, via our consumer-facing website PlaySafe.org. Increased media attention for toys in the fourth quarter allows us to reach more consumers with important messaging on choosing safe and age-appropriate toys and steps they can take to ensure safe play, and in recent years, we’ve been invited to participate in NGO press conferences about toy safety topics. Last year, our participation enabled us to get our play safety advice to a broader audience of consumers, and it provided us the opportunity to share the toy industry's deep commitment to children's safety.

What are some of the key safety topics you are sharing with consumers this holiday season?
As we enter the holiday shopping season, it's a crucial time to reinforce a few topics to families for ensuring safe play, from the point of purchase, through to when a child is enjoying a toy or game, and even beyond. Before a toy reaches a child’s hand, toy safety begins with purchasing from reputable retailers, avoiding counterfeit products, checking for — and following — the age grading on products, and knowing the potential hazards of non-toy products in the child’s play environment. During play, always ensure adult supervision, guide children in how to safely play with a toy, follow instructions, protect the privacy and safety of children in digital spaces, and properly store toys (so that younger kids don’t have access to older kids’ products). No matter how old your child is, paying attention to product recalls is crucial before accepting a hand-me-down toy, donating a toy, or buying a product second-hand or from a third-party seller.

Toy manufacturers are welcome to use the resources on PlaySafe.org to share with their consumers and social media followers for these tips and more safety information.

How can the toy industry get involved in spreading awareness about toy safety and safe play?
Now in its third year, The Toy Association’s Toy Safety Awareness Month initiative encourages its toy manufacturer and retailer members to get involved by offering parents and caregivers reliable information on safe toy shopping, appropriate toy selection, and safe play at home. Participating in Toy Safety Awareness Month not only demonstrates a personal or company commitment to being an advocate for safe play, but also presents an opportunity to get actively involved in spreading awareness.

We encourage our members to share The Toy Association’s safety content throughout the month of November and use the official hashtags, #ToySafetyAwarenessMonth and #PlaySafe, in all posts. Our commitment to promoting safe play extends beyond November, and we encourage our members to continue the conversation about toy safety throughout the year. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X to follow along and share our posts!