Important Advisory:

We are now requiring companies to provide us with documentation that their products have been tested by an independent lab for phthalates and lead.

We are requiring products submtted going forward to: (1) Follow the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that products contain no more than trace amounts of lead (as defined by the AAP as 40 parts per million); and (2) contain no phthalates.

However, as we are not a lab, we will not be independently verifying those results. Also, with the exception of the 2008 Platinum Toy Awards, toys submitted for review prior to January 2008 were not tested for lead..

Safety Recalls: Given the absence of more stringent federal legislation, we encourage consumers to keep up to date on safety recalls. Sign up for CPSC safety email alerts. Click here.

Instructions for submitting product to the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for review.

Contact the Toyportfolio @ (212) 598-0502 or by email at Webmaster@Toyportfolio.com.

Copyright 1995-2008. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio - All Rights Reserved. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Award are Registered Trademarks of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

Companies submit products to us all year long. Our editors review the submissions, weeding out products that are unsafe, unsound or obviously unworthy.

Promising products are then kid tested by families nationwide. Finally, these results are considered by the experts as part of the overall evaluation of the product.

Unlike publications that rely exclusively on the judgement of kid-testers, our reviews take kid-tester's response to a product as one of the many factors to be considered, along with educational and play value, safety, age appropriateness, and other factors.

Why not rely just on kid-testers? What would the results be of kid-testing in a supermarket? Your basket might be full of heavily advertised convenience foods and candy and ice cream, but low on nutritional balance. We want to make sure your basket for play is also balanced, so our reviews give you the opinion of our editorial staff, informed by kid-testers.

At the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio we don't take ads or entry fees from companies we review. Some guides charge companies to list their product: we don't. Most magazines rely on advertising from the very companies they review: we never have. We can tell it like it is, because we don't have to worry about companies pulling their ads. You can trust our kid, parent, and educator tested picks.

• What is this product designed to do and how well does it do it? What can the child do with the product?
• Does it invite active doing and thinking or simply passive watching?
• Is it safe and well-designed, and can it withstand the unexpected?
• Does it "fit" the developmental needs, interests, and typical skills of the children for whom it was designed? What message does it convey?
• Toys as well as books and videos can say a great deal about values parents are trying to convey. For example, does the product reflect old sexual stereotypes that limit children's views of themselves and others?
• What will a child learn from this product? Is it a "smart" product that will engage the child's mind or simply a novelty with limited play value? Is it entertaining? No product makes our list if kids find it boring, no matter how "good" or "educational" it claims to be.
• Is the age label correct? Is the product so easy that it will be boring or so challenging that it will be frustrating?