Toy safety in hospitals--or beware of parents bearing gifts.

Toys are an indispensable component of play therapy for hospitalized children. They can also be dangerous and may result in catastrophic accidents. Extreme care should be exercised in the purchase of "safe toys" for all infants and children in and out of the hospital. The guidelines of the Bureau of Product Safety of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) dealing with toy safely can be very helpful for child card professionals as well as parents who purchase toys. An explanation of the additional environmental hazards of toys in hospital settings should be an important part of the total in-service training of all personnel who care for infants and children in hospitals. In addition, it might be well for the Division of Product Safety of the FDA to consider criteria for toy safety in hospitals as a separate category in future Bulletins dealing with this problem.