Safety & Materials

Everything on this page is what we require before a toy goes on sale. It is also what you should ask of any toy store.

The standard we hold to

In the United States, every toy sold for children under 12 must be tested by a laboratory accepted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and certified with a Children's Product Certificate (CPC). The tests cover the toy safety standard ASTM F963 (mechanical and physical hazards, small parts, cords, magnets, sound), lead in paint and substrate, phthalates in plastics, and flammability. For toys intended for children under three there are additional small-parts and mouthing rules.

We only list products from brands that certify to these standards and hold a current CPC for the product. We keep a copy of each brand's certificate on file and will send it to you on request.

What that rules out

A large share of the toys sold online, especially the wooden and "Montessori" toys shipped directly from overseas marketplaces, have never been through this testing and cannot produce a certificate. We don't sell those. If a product looks like something you've seen on a marketplace for a third of the price, that price difference is usually the testing.

Materials

• Wood: beech, maple, rubberwood and birch, finished with water-based, non-toxic stains or left unfinished. Unfinished wood is exempt from heavy-metal testing by federal determination and is our preference for the youngest ages.
• Silicone: food-grade, BPA-free, free of phthalates and PVC. Used for teethers, stacking cups and sensory balls.
• Textiles: organic cotton or plant-dyed silk, tested for flammability.
• Magnets: only in products graded 3+ and only where the magnets are fully enclosed and the product has passed the flux and drop tests in ASTM F963. We do not sell magnetic toys for children under three.

How we grade age

Every product page shows the manufacturer's minimum age and our own developmental stage. Where they differ we show the stricter one. A "3+" label is a legal statement about small parts, not a suggestion; we don't put 3+ items in kits for younger children, even when the child seems ready.

Small parts, cords, and anything a child can stand on carry a note in the Safety notes section of the product page. Supervision is always assumed.

If something is wrong

If a product arrives damaged, breaks in use, or you have any safety concern, stop using it and contact us. We replace or refund first and ask questions after, and we report every incident to the brand. You can also report product safety incidents directly to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.