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Meet Our Contributors
The SafeToys.com editorial staff and contributors are writers and journalists who believe that safety at home can be improved with impartial, balanced information and advice on toys, games and electronics, juvenile furnishing, and children’s apparel.
I would like to introduce you to my granddaughter. She is 16 months old and is the joy of my life. She is bright, inquisitive, and loving.
For her first birthday, I ventured to the local toy emporium and found myself walking down an aisle filled with brightly-colored toys of all shapes and sizes: fuzzy bears and talking boxes, picture books and puzzles, balls and bubbles. Each looked fun and harmless yet I knew that some toys had been recalled. The trouble was, I didn’t know which ones or why. When I inquired the clerk told me that everything in the store was safety tested, so I made several purchases with confidence.
At home, with my gifts wrapped and ready for transport, my attention was directed to a news story about lead paint and toy recalls: One of my purchases was the subject of a national recall.
I was relieved that I received the information well before I had given my granddaughter the toy, though I was irritated by the hassle of having to return the item to the store. But there’s no use getting irritated if you aren’t going to do something to fix the problem. I decided that people need a place where they can find information and suggestions about toys as well as other products for children.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a resource that would let people know, not just about what toys have been recalled but also, which toys were great for kids? Wouldn’t it be useful to have experts who could put toy safety information into perspective and give advice about toys, video games, books, and movies as well as everyday safety tips?
Later that day SafeToys.com began.
—Richard Oller, Publisher