We work really hard at The Little Peanut Company to offer you beautiful products to help encourage and promote early years development. Each one of the items within our sensory and toy collections is handpicked to provide a benefit to your little one, and as parents ourselves, we know how important it is to ensure your little ones are safe. We therefore encourage all parents and caregivers to read this page and to take note of any product warnings and care instructions which you will find on the product label or packaging.

UKCA AND CE MARKING – KEEPING YOUR LITTLE ONES SAFE

It is a legal requirement for anyone selling toys and teethers to ensure that the product is safe for the babies and/or children they are intended for. This means that every toy on the market (or product that has play value) should be tested to the relevant Toy Safety Standards. These standards cover everything from product functionality and strength (is it going to safely withstand child play, or could it cause any harm during play), flammability (if it catches fire, does it self extinguish or travel at a safe rate), chemical make up (are their any chemicals or dyes in the product that may cause harm if ingested), to ensuring that the product is labelled correctly and provides the relevant warnings for safe use.

The evidence parents and gift buyers should look out for to show that that their toy meets these standards is the UKCA mark (UK Standards) or CE mark (European Standards – only applicable in the UK until end of 2021) mark. 

,OUR PROMISE TO YOU

Any item that we make and sell, that has been manufactured for the purposes of play, or has play value, has been tested to the UK and European Toy Safety Standards EN71. This means they are safe for children to play with within the age limits and guidance instructions that accompany the product. These items may still come with warnings (such as not suitable for under 3’s due to small parts), so please check the full product description and any labelling applied to the product for specific details.

THE SENSORY COLLECTION

The intention of the items within our sensory collection are for parents to use to aid sensory and fine motor development in their little ones. This collection is made up of a variety of items from traditional toys, to teethers and other resources which haven’t been manufactured for the purposes of play, but have excellent sensory benefits (think foil blanket for example). 

If your box contains items that have not been listed with the UKCA or CE mark, or you have purchased individual items that do not show the either of these marks on the item or packaging, it means that the item is not a toy and has therefore not been tested under the UK or European Toy Safety Standards. These resources are to be used as a developmental aids under full supervision of the parent or caregiver. This doesn’t automatically mean the product is unsafe, it means that the item hasn’t been through the relevant testing to determine it is suitable for babies and children to play with. There may be warnings that accompany these items so please look out for these when you purchase and on the items packaging. We need to be clear that babies and children should not be left unsupervised with these items and they should not be put in the mouth. These items should be stored away out of reach once your sensory discovery time is finished.

It will always be clear if your item is a toy or not however if you are unsure or would like to know more, please feel free to contact us here and we will happily clarify.