Sensory Awareness on toys.

Sensory Awareness on toys.

Started
20 April 2021
Petition to
Hamleys toy store and 3 others
Signatures: 32,317Next Goal: 35,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Sarah Cornelly

When shopping for toys, either for your own child or others, it is always fairly straightforward. What about if you were shopping for a child with special needs or an autistic child? When you are in that position and you know someone who suffers from sensory overload, it can be hard to find appropriate toys and games for them. This petition is for toy stores to take into consideration of children who are prone to sensory overload and sensitivity.

An example of this may be displayed as an over-sensitivity or an under-sensitivity around certain sensory stimuli. Sound overload affects the noises that children hear, sometimes children with sensory overload cannot bear to hear loud noises and will cover their ears, this can also happen with sight, especially flashing or bright lights. I am petitioning for there to be a simple symbol on the boxes/packaging of toys that lets parents, guardians, and anyone know that the toy includes lights and sounds.

This is not always visible and will save a lot of time and energy when buying gifts for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children, or any child suffering from sensory sensitivity.

This symbol will not single out these children, as anyone can buy the toy, rather it will help people to identify which toys will be more suitable for their child. To identify this, we could use an image of a speaker with a red line through it which will confirm the toy is not noisy, and for light, we could do the same but with a light bulb. These symbols could sit parallel with the age-appropriate note on the box of the toy, for example, “2+ years” as it will then be easy to recognise and find. This will help a lot of people who struggle to find appropriate toys for their children. This petition is calling for toy stores to amend their toy production practices and add symbols that indicate how noisy and/or bright the toy is.

Please sign and share this petition to make children’s lives easier and better.

Support now
Signatures: 32,317Next Goal: 35,000
Support now
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Decision-Makers

  • Hamleys toy store
  • Smyths toy store
  • The Entertainer
  • Early Learners