The toys your children get this holiday season may be hazardous to their health. Taking a few simple steps can keep play time fun and the holidays happier.

North Carolina Product Information Research Group(NC PIRG) came out with their annual list ofpotentially dangerous toys.

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Colin Waite with NC PIRG says anything smaller than 1 3/4" is a choking hazard. He says countless toys are sold without required warnings.

More than 152,000 people visited North Carolina emergency rooms last year with toy-related injuries. At WakeMed, two-thirds of those injuries were attributed to bicycles and the foot-powered scooter.

Raleigh is the latest city to join several Triangle-area municipalities requiring bike helmets for anyone under 16 riding bikes, scooters, skates or skateboards.

The National Association of State PIRGs has a list of tips that consumers should think about before purchasing toys.

  • Be vigilant.Examine the toys for potential hazards.
  • If a toy looks unsafe, do not buy it.If you see small parts or a small ball or a balloon and do not see a choke-hazard warning, call theU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)at 1-800-638-2772 or 1-800-638-8270.
  • Keep small parts away from your toddlers, particularly if an older child has toys with small parts.Safety starts with reading the labels, says Dr. Karen Frush with Duke Children's Hospital.

    • "Sometimes, it's kind of a pain. Sometimes, the print is small, but sometimes that will alert us to things to make us decide to choose something else," she says.