KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
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Holiday shopping for children involves important safety considerations.
This year, a Kansas City nonprofit is working with Amazon to help parents make informed decisions about toy purchases.
Charlie's House works to raise awareness about home safety risks. The organization sits on Amazon's advisory board to review toys and ensure the online retailer provides safe options for children.
When metro shoppers purchase certain toys from Amazon, they now receive automatic emails directing them to Charlie's House for additional safety resources.
This partnership aims to keep toys fun while ensuring they're appropriate for the right ages.
Magnetic Tiles, one of 2025's hit toys for ages 3 and up, trigger these safety notifications when purchased through Amazon.
In toy stores across the metro, shoppers are selecting favorites for the holiday season.
Slime, sea creature plushies, stress toys, fossils and LEGOs were mentioned by various shoppers.
"I think it's really important to be on top of what's safe and what's not," said shopper Ann Miller.
Charlie's House educates parents about common household hazards: button batteries (which are found in many modern toys), water beads and Orbeez, and magnets.
"If they swallow them and come together, they can pinch and twist different organs in the body," Bob Renton, director of operations at Charlie's House, said about magnets.
Molly House, who works as a nanny, appreciates the additional safety guidance.
"I'm a nanny, and I see lots of unfortunate accidents all the time with older siblings having little toys that babies should not have, and I think that's awesome. I think most parents would value a little extra input and extra help," House said.
For in-person shopping, Holly Pollard, of Brookside Toy and Science, provides personalized guidance to customers.
"If you were a customer shopping for your grandkid, I would walk you through the store and clearly explain why certain items were age-appropriate for kids," Pollard said.
Pollard focuses on one-on-one time to ensure customers leave educated about their purchases.
"If an item says it's 18-month or anything below 3 years old, that item has gone through a laundry list of tests, and I would say should absolutely be considered safe," Pollard said.
Renton emphasized the importance of ongoing vigilance.
"It takes constant supervision to make sure the toys are age-appropriate and infants aren't getting into something risky," Renton said.
The partnership between Charlie's House and Amazon extends beyond email notifications. Amazon helped create a virtual safety experience app that Charlie's House offers for free worldwide.
"It broadens our impact immensely," Renton said.
The app focuses on "tip over hazards, ingestible hazards" and other home safety concerns.
"Amazon offered to help us build a virtual experience; we were overjoyed," Renton said.
The app took 18 months to develop, while the email notification process and Amazon Live commercials began in February.
Charlie's House encourages parents to contact the organization for tours and safety resources, including furniture straps.
"Remember, if it's big enough to fit in a child's mouth, it's a choke hazard," Renton said.
Experts recommend taking the extra step of researching whether toys have been recalled before making purchases.
Helpful links:
- Amazon trustworthy shopping
- How Charlie’s House worked with Amazon to bring a virtual safety experience to life
- Consumer safety tips
- Furniture anchoring
- Ingestible items awareness
- Consumer Product Safety Commission
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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