Remember when you were a child and your parent or parents kept telling you not to run with scissors in your hand or you could put your eye out? Well, it turns out that your parents were right! According to a 2 year research study conducted from 1998 to 2000, by a European medical journal, almost 68% of all eye injuries reported in children under 7 involved scissors. That same study indicated that 58% of these accidents occurred at home. These statistics point to the importance of providing young children with a "safe" set of scissors.

Fiskar's Safety Scissors	3M Kids Scissors	Fiskar's Children Scissors

Although a number of brands of scissors are marked, labeled, or referenced as "child safe" or "kid safe", not all of them make the cut (no pun intended). Here are some important safety oriented features to consider before ordering scissors for your child or children:

• Scissor size - Start by making sure that the scissors are appropriate to the size of the child’s hand. Small hands can find it difficult to manipulate adult size scissors, even if they are "safety" models. Most kid friendly models have ergonomically designed handles that much more comfortable for smaller hands. Here's an easy test: if an adult sized hand can fit in the handles and successfully use the scissors, then they are most likely too big for a small child.
• Rounded tip - This is a feature that is an absolute must on kid friendly scissors, but you'd be surprised how many safety based models don't feature a truly blunt tip. Blunt tip scissors will cut just as well as sharp tipped models, so don't worry about their effectiveness.
• Rounded blade - Rounded blades are designed so they won't cut fingers or skin, but will cut through most papers, cards, and thin materials. As the cutting action is typically where injuries occur, this is another important area to review as some scissor brands are marketed as kid safe, but don't have rounded blades. They only feature a blunt tip and safety grips.
• Durability - Unless you decide to consider kid safe scissors as "disposable", it's worth the time to invest money into a decent pair. Kids are notoriously hard on scissors and the cheaply constructed models won't last long.
• Effectiveness - While this factor isn't directly related to safety, it does play a role. If the scissors don't cut regular paper well, or the children have to struggle to make the cuts; they will soon lose interest. Once they lose interest, they may start to do other activities like run or play, and carry the scissors with them. Additionally, small children may start to test out the effects of scissors on other items like hair and clothes. We suggest you invest in a decent set of scissors that actually cuts well (typically seen in the more expensive models) so the kids don't lose interest in the project. The ideal pair of child scissors is a effective, but safe cutting tool.

Finding the best pair of safety scissors for your needs isn't that difficult if you follow the suggestions above.

If you are shopping for a pair, please consider visiting: Kids Scissors.