The four factors, quoted

The definition

The term children’s product means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. The word doing the work is primarily. A product that children sometimes use is not automatically in; a product aimed at them is.

Factor A, the manufacturer statement

A statement by a manufacturer about the intended use of the product, including a label on the product if the statement is reasonable. The qualifier matters. Printing "not for children" on a bag of beads that is sold in a toy aisle in a kit with a child on the front is not a reasonable statement, and the label will not save it.

Factor B, the representation

Whether the product is represented in its packaging, display, promotion or advertising as appropriate for use by children 12 years of age or younger. This is the factor nobody expects to be in a statute about product safety, and it is the reason a packaging supplier has anything to say here at all.

Factor C, common recognition

Whether the product is commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child of 12 or younger. This one is not yours to set. Some categories read as children’s items no matter how they are labeled, and large plastic pony beads are a fair example.

Factor D, the Age Determination Guidelines

The Age Determination Guidelines issued by the Commission staff in September 2002, and any successor to them. These are the staff’s written basis for judging what age a product is for, which makes them worth reading before arguing about it.

All four, not any one

The statute says the following factors shall be considered. It is not a checklist where one answer settles the matter, and it is not a test you pass by disclaiming. The honest way to use it is to look at the finished package and ask who a stranger would say it is for.

References