The Toy Association™ Advocates for Safe and Informed Gift-Giving This Holiday Season

December 12, 2024 | The Toy Association™ wrapped up its fourth annual Toy Safety Awareness Month at the end of November, putting an increased spotlight on safe play at the height of the holiday shopping season. While toy safety remains a top priority for the Association year-round, this monthlong, dedicated consumer education campaign reached parents, caregivers, grandparents, and other gift-givers to educate them on safe shopping for toys and safe play at home once the gifts are unwrapped.

Throughout the month, The Toy Association shared toy safety tips on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn using the official hashtags #ToySafetyAwarenessMonth and #PlaySafe. Posts addressed critical topics like how to spot counterfeit toys and following age recommendations on toys, and shared The Toy Association’s Toy Shopping Checklist, infographics on counterfeit toys and keeping kids safe in digital spaces, and a video on Toy Safety 365 Days a Year.

The month’s activities also included The Toy Association’s rapid response to NGO “dangerous toy” lists circulated ahead of Thanksgiving. Joan Lawrence, The Toy Association’s “Toy Safety Mom” and senior vice president of standards & regulatory affairs, served as the official spokesperson on this topic, underscoring the toy industry’s commitment to providing safe, quality toys to children and offering guidance on how to avoid counterfeit toys sold by rogue sellers online, among other safety advice, while debunking false claims made in the reports. Media coverage for these NGO lists continued to decline; U.S. PIRG’s report was covered in 45 placements, 52 fewer than last year.

In early December, The Toy Association continued to provide gift-givers with tips for a safe holiday season in TV segments aired in Phoenix, Austin, Cincinnati, and Tampa — also nationally syndicated to Yahoo! News and MSN — which reached a total audience of more than 689 million viewers. Lawrence underscored the safety of legitimate toys, the risks associated with counterfeit toys, and why it’s important to avoid such products. She also shared tips on making age-appropriate toy selections and how to ensure safe play once the toys are out of package.

The initiative also continued with an influencer campaign to keep the safety conversation going, featuring The Toy Association’s safety resources. The campaign garnered a total of 672,000 impressions.

To learn more about The Toy Association and its work to protect and promote the toy industry, visit ToyAssociation.org. For toy and play safety tips all year long, families are encouraged to visit PlaySafe.org, The Association’s trusted safety resource for parents and caregivers.