Scope of the TSD 88/378/EEC

List of products not regarded as toys for the purpose of the TSD:

1. Christmas decorations
2. Detailed scale models for adult collectors
3. Equipment intended to be used collectively in playgrounds
4. Sports equipment
5. Aquatic equipment intended to be used in deep water
6. Folk dolls and decorative dolls and other similar articles for adult collectors
7. ‘Professional’ toys installed in public places (shopping centers, stations, etc.)
8. Puzzles with more than 500 pieces or without picture, intended for specialists
9. Air guns and air pistols
10. Fireworks, including percussion caps (*)
11. Slings and catapults
12. Sets of darts with metallic points
13. Electric ovens, irons or other functional products operated at a nominal voltage exceeding 24 volts
14. Products containing heating elements intended for use under the supervision of an adult in a teaching context
15. Vehicles with combustion engines
16. Toy steam engines
17. Bicycles designed for sport or for travel on the public highway (**)
18. Video toys that can be connected to a video screen, operated at a nominal voltage exceeding 24 volts
19. Babies’ dummies
20. Faithful reproductions of real fire arms
21. Fashion jewelry for children

(*) With the exception of percussion caps specifically designed for use in toys without prejudice to more stringent provisions already existing in certain Member States.

(**) Cycles with a maximum saddle height of 435mm are normally considered toys.

Toy Safety Directive 88/378/EC identifies six areas that are a common source of danger. The areas include physical & mechanical properties, flammability, chemical properties, electrical properties, hygiene, and radioactivity. Before a product can be certified as safe to enter the European Economic Area, it must meet the requirements set out in the directive in each of the six areas.

Toys is the category for which the most notifications of injury take place and consequently the TSD empowers the EU Member States to take any necessary action in regards to a toy that might cause injury. Such as:

• An entire ban and recall where a “serious risk requiring rapid action” is identified
• Information regarding such actions may be available to the general public
• Ban on exporting the product from the EU to third party countries

Toy Safety Regulations and Standard

Toy Safety Regulations are:

• General Product Safety Regulations
• Toys (Safety) Regulations
• Pencil and Graphics Instruments (Safety) Regulations

Toy Safety Standards cover mainly:

• Mechanical & Physical Hazards
• Flammability
• Toxicity-Migration of Certain Elements
• Experimental Sets for Chemistry
• Chemical Toys
• Graphical Symbol for Age Warning
• Electrical properties

Electrical and Battery Operated Toys

1. Electrical and Battery Operated Toys cover the whole range of electrical toys from small button cells, operating lights and sound to large sit and ride on vehicles, powered by sealed lead acid cells.
2. Toys must not be powered by electricity exceeding certain volts.
3. For toys operated by batteries, the problems occur when the wrong batteries are used, when old and new batteries are mixed or when batteries are wrongly inserted.
4. When the customers want to use rechargeable batteries, certain advice may need to be given depending on how many batteries are required to power the product.
5. WEEE registration and compliance (after August 13, 2005)
6. RoHS compliance (after July 1, 2006)

Chemical Toys

These have to carry clear warnings and the age limitations.

Acoustics & Toys

Toys that produce noise will have limits on what are described as “peak emission sound pressure levels”, i.e., the loudest noise that a toy can make. Warning is needed if the noise is over a certain level.