According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 18 children died in toy related deaths in 2007. And an additional 170,100 were treated in emergency rooms for toy related injuries. Therefore parents are once again warned to pay attention to the age grading of products.

"We all think that we have prodigies for children and they could handle a toy that may be a few years ahead of their age," but the age grades are there for a reason, said commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese.

And on top of it all, parents must also keep in mind the ages of other kids in the home. Will younger siblings have access to the toy? "Know who else is in the house," said Ellen Durand, co-owner of Village Toy Co. in Grosse Pointe.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, passed by Congress in summer, requires that toys and infant products undergo extensive testing before they are sold. The act also bans lead and other harmful chemicals in toys. For the first time, manufacturers must pay independent labs to verify that every component of a product meets new limits for lead and does not contain six chemicals that Congress has banned from plastic children's products.

Other parts of the act call for the creation of a comprehensive, publicly accessible consumer complaint database; increased civil penalties that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can assess against violators; and protection of whistleblowers who report product safety defects.

Toy-related injuries send thousands of children to the emergency room each year. Inspecting and closely monitoring all new toys to make sure they are safe before they are even taken out of the package can easily prevent these incidents. When selecting toys, taking the child’s age, interests and skill level into consideration is incredibly necessary.