The brisk air of autumn ushers in holiday shopping season. Toy stores soon fill with eager shoppers looking for perfect toys for their children.

  While you are shopping, keep safety in mind, too.

  Pay special attention to the toys you purchase for your children and carefully inspect toys given to your children by well-meaning relatives and friends.

  Stop and think ahead of time. Is this toy appropriate? Dont pick out a toy you think your child will grow into, said Diane Bell, director of the Think First Injury Prevention Program, a Baptist Memorial Health Care project.

  Each year, toys and home playground equipment cause more than 11,000 injuries to childrens eyes, according to Prevent Blindness America, a volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. 

  Toys That Can Pose A Threat

• Toys with projectiles or long sharp pieces. 
• Stuffed animals with sharp whiskers or other parts.
• Pellet and BB guns. 
• Darts.
• Sticks.

  Children who are old enough to understand the concept of safety can be taught to keep sharp objects away from their eyes and from other people, but young children may not understand. They could unwittingly stick a sharp object in their eye, causing damage to the cornea (the transparent coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and pupil and admits light to the interior) or other parts of the eye. These injuries can cause decreased vision or even blindness.

  Prevent Blindness America has a safe toys checklist that is an excellent guide for parents to use, Bell said.

  Safe Toys Checklist

• Read all warnings and instructions.
• Consider a childs ability rather than age with purchasing toys; age warnings on toys are not guarantees of safety.
• Avoid toys with sharp or rigid points, spikes, rods, and dangerous edges.
• Inspect toys for safe, sturdy construction.
• Repair or replace damaged or defective toys.
• Store toys properly after play to avoid trips and falls.
• Supervise childrens craft projects; scissors, writing/drawing utensils, and glue are among the products most dangerous to a youngsters eyesight.
• Check the lenses and frames of childrens sunglasses before buying them; many (particularly the inexpensive, novelty type) can break and cause injuries.
• Stay away from flying toys and projectile-firing toys.
• BB guns are not toys and should not be given to children too young to handle them safely.
• Keep older childrens toys away from younger children.

Giving a child toys should be a happy occasion, so just use common sense when buying them.