Are Old Toys Safe? The 1978 and 2009 Dates That Matter

Some old toys are perfectly safe, and some are not, and the age of the toy is the best first clue. Two dates do most of the work. Painted toys made in the U.S. before 1978 are the ones health guides flag for lead paint. And on August 14, 2009, the federal limit for lead in paint on toys dropped from 600 parts per million to 90. A toy made before those dates was built to looser rules, and here is the part most people don't know: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says used children's products are not covered by the total-lead limit that new ones must meet.

A new toy has to prove it is safe. A used toy only has to be old. The checking is up to you.

That doesn't mean you should toss every hand-me-down before the holidays. It means a few minutes of looking, which this guide walks through.

Are old toys safe to play with?

Many are, but "old" covers a lot of ground. The safety rules for children's products tightened in steps, and a toy carries the rules of the year it was made, not the year you bought it.

Today, the CPSC sets two separate lead limits for children's products. Paint and similar surface coatings may not contain more than 90 ppm lead (0.009 percent), according to the agency's lead-in-paint FAQ. And the material of any part a child can reach may not contain more than 100 ppm lead, according to its total-lead-content page.

The Federal Register notice from December 2009 shows how recent those numbers are. On August 14, 2009, the paint limit fell from 600 ppm to 90 ppm, and the limit for lead in reachable parts of children's products fell from 600 ppm to 300 ppm the same day. The 100 ppm figure in force now is stricter still.

So a toy from the 1990s or early 2000s was made when the allowed lead was several times higher than it is today.

Why don't the new-toy rules protect used toys?

This is the gap in most answers online. The CPSC's own page on total lead content says used children's products are exempt from that requirement. The exemption has limits: it does not cover children's metal jewelry, and it does not cover a product the seller knows breaks the rule. But it means a resold toy is not tested or certified the way a new one is.

That is why the New York Department of State, in a consumer alert dated July 22, 2026, told parents that vintage plastic toys made before 2008 may contain high levels of lead or other toxic heavy metals. The alert ties that date to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the 2008 law behind the tighter limits.

Are old plastic toys safe for babies?

This is where the research is most worrying, and where babies, who put everything in their mouths, are most exposed.

The Journal of Environmental Health, published by the National Environmental Health Association, ran a study in its January/February 2015 issue that screened more than 100 plastic toys from the 1970s and 1980s, including Little People figures by Fisher-Price. It found lead or cadmium in 67 percent of them. The researchers used a handheld X-ray fluorescence scanner, a screening tool rather than a full lab test, so read the figure as "two in three showed metals," not as a measure of harm.

The safest choice for a baby or toddler is a toy made under today's rules, with older plastic kept for display, for older children who don't mouth toys, or for the shelf.

What should you check before you buy or pass on an old toy?

Most of the checks take seconds. Here is a list built from the CPSC, the New York alert and Cedars-Sinai's guidance for parents.

1. Find the date. Look for a year moulded into the plastic or printed on the base or box. Before 1978 for painted toys, and before 2008 for plastic ones, means extra caution.
2. Look for flaking or chipped paint. Cedars-Sinai's advice is to take away any toy with flaking paint.
3. Search the recall list. The CPSC's recall list goes back to 1973, and recalled toys often turn up at yard sales and secondhand stores. Our guide to checking recalls before you buy used shows how.
4. Pull on every small piece. The CPSC bans small parts on toys for children under 3, and that includes pieces that break off in normal rough play. An old toy may have pieces that worked loose.
5. Look for loose magnets. The New York alert warns that swallowed magnets can cause severe internal injuries, and that secondhand magnetic jewelry may predate safety standards that took effect in 2022.
6. Open the battery door. Some light-up and sound toys run on coin cells. Our article on button batteries in older gadgets explains what a safe battery compartment looks like.
7. Squeeze bath toys and teethers. The New York alert says these can trap moisture, mold and bacteria. If it can't be cleaned properly, skip it.
8. Keep water beads away from small children. The same alert strongly warns against having them in homes with children under five.

Can you test an old toy for lead at home?

Not reliably. In 2007 the CPSC evaluated the home lead test kits sold to consumers and found that many missed lead that was there, some flagged lead that wasn't, and none could consistently find lead hidden under a lead-free top coat. Its advice at the time, reported by the Washington State Attorney General's office, was that consumers should not use those kits to judge products. Cedars-Sinai suggests asking your child's doctor about lead testing if you are worried about what a child has already played with.

Quick guide: old toys by era

Bottom line

Old toys aren't automatically dangerous, but they aren't held to today's rules either, and used ones skip the lead certification new toys need. Check the date, the paint, the recall list and the small parts, and keep older plastic out of babies' mouths. For new or newer pieces this season, browse the shop's categories, and see the FAQ for how pickup and payment work. If you're planning a secondhand nursery, the crib and high chair checks are a good next read.

Know someone sorting through a box of family toys before the holidays? Send them this list.