Choosing Toys And Gifts For Children (Start With The Battery Compartment)

If you’re having a difficult time thinking of the best gift for a kid, think no further because we’ve got the answers to the best gift stores for kids. Better than Santa Clause any day!

Before anything about which toys are good, one hazard that’s in almost every Singapore household and kills children.

Button batteries. The flat coin-shaped lithium cells.

If a child swallows one and it lodges in the oesophagus, it doesn’t simply pass through. A current runs across the tissue and generates a chemical burn. Serious damage can begin within about two hours, and it can be fatal.

The symptoms look like nothing much: drooling, refusing food, coughing, gagging, vomiting, being generally unwell. There’s usually no witnessed swallowing.

If you suspect it, go straight to A&E. Don’t wait to see. Don’t make them vomit. Say the words “button battery” at reception. It changes how fast they’re seen.

They’re in musical greeting cards, singing books, LED tea lights, key fobs, remote controls, thermometers, kitchen scales, hearing aids and cheap novelty toys. Any battery compartment a child can reach should need a screwdriver to open. If it doesn’t, tape it shut or get rid of the item.

High-powered magnets

High-powered magnets: the small, very strong ones in magnetic building sets and desk toys.

One swallowed magnet usually passes. Two or more attract each other through the walls of the bowel, pinching the tissue between them until it perforates. It needs surgery, and again there’s often nothing to see at the time.

Keep them away from under-sixes entirely, count the pieces, and go to A&E immediately if any might have been swallowed.

The rest of the safety list

Small parts. If a piece fits through a toilet roll tube, it’s a choking hazard for under-threes. That’s the whole test and it takes two seconds.
Balloons are the leading cause of toy-related choking deaths. Uninflated ones and burst fragments mould to the airway and can’t be dislodged. Not for under-eights unsupervised, and pick up every fragment when one pops.
Water beads. They expand enormously after being swallowed, can cause a bowel obstruction, and don’t show up on X-ray. Not worth having with small children in the house.
Cords and strings longer than about 20cm on a toy: a strangulation risk, particularly near a cot.
Loud toys. A toy held at the ear can reach damaging levels. If it’s unpleasant at arm’s length, it’s worse for them.
Check the safety marking: EN71, ASTM or ISO, or Singapore’s own registered safety mark for controlled goods. Unmarked toys from online marketplaces are the ones that fail.
Age labels are safety guidance, not ability guidance. “3+” usually means small parts, not that a clever two-year-old is ready.
Second-hand toys: search the name plus “recall” before giving it.

What gets played with

Once safety’s handled, the difference between toys is simple.

Open-ended toys work better than single-function ones, and fewer toys work better than lots of them.

Research on toy quantity finds that children given fewer toys play with each one for longer and more inventively. A room full of options produces shallow, hopping play. Handy to remember before a birthday.

Blocks, magnetic tiles, Lego. Different every time, and used for a decade.
Dolls, figures, animals, a play kitchen. Pretend play is where language and social reasoning are built.
Art materials. Paper, crayons, tape, glue, scissors. Consumable, cheap, endlessly used.
Dress-up and props, which you don’t have to buy.
Books. Always the best value item on any gift list.
Balls, ropes, anything physical. Undersupplied in flats.
Puzzles and simple board games from about three.

What underperforms: battery-powered toys that do everything themselves. If the toy is doing the performing, the child is watching, not playing, and those are the ones abandoned within a fortnight. As a rule of thumb, the toy should do 10% and the child 90%.

Giving to other people’s children

Ask the parents first for anything large, loud, or requiring storage. Flats are small and nobody will say so afterwards.
Books, art materials and experiences are almost never unwelcome.
Consider an experience for older children: a zoo trip, a class, a day out. Remembered longer than an object.
Money or a contribution to something is a perfectly good gift here. Asked whether they’d rather receive gifts or money for a new baby, our readers split fairly evenly (3,549 votes), so asking is reasonable.
Skip the noisy one you thought would be funny. The parents will remember.

Frequently asked questions

Why are button batteries so dangerous?

If one lodges in a child’s oesophagus, a current runs across the tissue and produces a chemical burn. Serious damage can begin within about two hours and it can be fatal. The symptoms are vague, usually drooling, refusing food, coughing or vomiting, and the swallowing is rarely witnessed. Go straight to A&E and say “button battery” at reception.

Where are button batteries found?

Musical greeting cards, singing books, LED tea lights, key fobs, remote controls, thermometers, kitchen scales, hearing aids and cheap novelty toys. Any battery compartment a child can reach should need a screwdriver to open. If it doesn’t, tape it shut or discard the item.

Are magnetic toys safe?

Not the small high-powered kind for young children. One swallowed magnet usually passes, but two or more attract through the walls of the bowel and pinch the tissue until it perforates, needing surgery. Keep them away from under-sixes, count the pieces, and go to A&E if any might have been swallowed.

How do I know if a toy is a choking hazard?

If a piece fits through a toilet roll tube, it’s too small for a child under three. Balloons deserve separate mention: they’re the leading cause of toy-related choking deaths, because uninflated pieces and burst fragments mould to the airway and can’t be dislodged.

What kinds of toys are best?

Open-ended ones: blocks, magnetic tiles, dolls and figures, art materials, dress-up, books. Research on toy quantity finds children given fewer toys play with each for longer and more inventively, so a room full of options produces shallower play. Battery-powered toys that do everything themselves get abandoned fastest; the toy should do about 10% of the work and the child 90%.

What should I give someone else’s child?

Books, art materials or an experience are almost never unwelcome. Ask the parents before anything large, loud or needing storage. Flats are small and nobody will tell you afterwards.

What to remember

Check every battery compartment your child can reach. If it opens without a screwdriver, tape it or bin it. Button batteries can cause serious harm within two hours and the symptoms look like a mild illness.

Keep small high-powered magnets and water beads out of the house entirely, and treat balloons as a serious hazard, not a party item.

Then buy fewer, more open-ended toys. Blocks and art materials outlast everything with a battery in it.