Testing Time!

As I type our very first toy is in the lab being set alight, stress tested and chopped up for chemical testing. Will it pass? I very much hope so! I can't wait to hear but the lab can take up to a month to finish the testing so I am trying to distract myself with other things. Anyone else had toys tested for CE conformity?

Making our own toys!

While we are happy to offer a range of really great toys for you to buy through our shop there are a few things that we can't find and would like to see.  One of these is a travel car mat and so, after many hours of designing and making and a bit of faffing we finally had a prototype.  BUT while toys made for your own kids can be made just however your want, toys made for sale in the EU must meet a range of safety standards. The rigor of the standards delights us as parents and makes us tremble as potential manufacturers. 
For those of you who are as new to the CE (Certification European) regulations as us I thought it might be helpful to give a bit of an overview. 

Basically, anyone making toys to sell for children in the EU has to test them. There are loads of people out there who don't know this so it would be great to spread the word. Though testing is quite complicated when you first look at it, it is not too bad once you have taken an deep breath and especially if you join one of the online support groups of like minded people. The standard that needs to be met is called BS EN71 and in summary there are a number of criteria that toys must be tested for:

1. Mechanical and Physical properties - how strong it is and whether it may physically harm a child.
2. Flammability - how likely it is to catch fire and how it burns if it does
3. Migration of certain elements - whether it contains anything that may poison children

There are other test which apply to specific toy types such as chemistry sets, activity toys etc but the above 3 are relevant to all toys.

If you would like to know more about CE testing this facebook group is an amazing resource and a great place to start.  CE Support Chatter Group 

We'll keep you posted on our toy testing progress! 

Neville: an introduction and a packing list

Hi my name is Neville and I am Take Me Toys expert on lists, logistics and staying safe. I like nothing more than a list which I can tick things off to give the day a sense of purpose.

Going away with the family is great but there is so much to remember and I have written a very long list of things you might like to take. I have provided it as a pdf which you won't be able to change and also as a word document which you will. The links are here

Tip of the day: take photographs of your passports, insurance documents and any other important paper work and email them to yourself. That way even if you lose everything you will be able to get copies from any computer in the world.

Welcome to Take Me Toys!

Take me toys - our new business!

Welcome to the take me toys blog.  Over the coming weeks we will be sharing our hottest travel tips to make travelling as easy as possible this summer.  

Please check out our new website which is full of travel toys to keep your kids busy on your journeys.