Some safety tips for buying second hand toys this holiday season

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - With the holiday season in full swing, getting your hands on the season’s hottest toys can be expensive. One way to curve your spending this year is to purchase your presents second-hand. Secondhand toys can come with plastic that is cheap or needs to be washed, loose threads or magnets, or batteries that have been recalled.

Dr. Farnsworth with Black Hills Pediatrics warns parents that used toys are more susceptible to these hazards, and has some tips on how to avoid any issues with your second-hand toys.

”One very important thing is to watch out for batteries, especially flat batteries that are button batteries. If you have a toy that’s really flat and makes a lot of noise, it has a button battery in it and button batteries can be very, very high risk in children if they are swallowed. Let’s talk about plastic for a second, don’t get cheap plastic that is faded and that has cracks and things that you can’t wash. But you can wash just with soap and water, dish soap should be good enough. And then for, of course, stuffed animals and things like that you can wash with laundry soap in your washing machine,” Dr. Farnsworth says.

Toys that are smaller than your child’s mouth can be choking hazards. Other things to look out for are wooden toys with splinters and labels that say non-toxic.

She also wants to remind parents to check for toys or parts that have been recalled. You can find that link here.