: How do you determine safe (non-poisonous) toys for small children? Nowadays a good portion of seemingly quality products from known makers are manufactured in China (as I read see based on reading the labels). There are some

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Hundreds of new toys hit the stores inspite of millions of them already stacked up. But, not all toys are risk free and can be hazardous for your child. Thus, to determine the safety in a toy one should keep these things in mind:

While buying toys made of fabric, one should check the mark of flame resistant, or flame retardant.
Usage of non-toxic paints is a must
Stuffed toys should be washable and the toy should not be too loud as ity can lead to hearing damage.

It is always advisable to buy wooden toys rather than plastic toys as they do not harm the environment as well as the child. They do not have sharp edges like the plastic toys which can hurt the child.

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I always check the product safety label of the toy, to give me an assurance that the toy is safe for my child and age-appropriate, as well. I also consider the guidelines set by CPSC in choosing toys, such as:

Toys made of fabric should be labeled flame retardant or flame resistant
Stuffed toys should be washable
Painted toys should be covered with lead-free paint
Art materials should say nontoxic.
Crayons and paints should say ASTM D-4236 on the package, which means that they've been evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/safe_toys.html

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In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission keeps track of toys that have been recalled (or are recommended for recall) based on things like lead in paint, choking hazards, etc. Not sure how useful this would be in your country but I'm betting there is a lot of overlap with childrens' toys between our two countries. :)

We personally choose toys based on (a) how likely it is to be chewed, (b) where it was made and how much information is available about sourcing, and (c) if it's wooden and painted, we usually try to do a scratch test to see how easily the paint comes off.

There are also lead testing products out there that will tell you how much lead is in a particular product. Consumer Reports had an article comparing the accuracy of different lead test kits a few years ago.