Advice For Last-Minute Shoppers

If you've put off holiday shopping to the very last minute, retailers are rewarding your procrastination. Instead of waiting until after Christmas for their giant sales, they're already started.

For example, Best Buy is offering discounts of 10 to 30 percent off select HDTVs. The Gap is advertising 60 percent off throughout the store. Target says it has "1000s of deals, online and in store."

But getting a good price is only part of the last-minute shopping drill. Whatever you buy - especially if its for children - make sure it's safe and right for the child's age. Here are some last-minute shopping tips:

Read labels

Look for labels that list the appropriate age for some toys. It may not be safe to let younger children play with toys designed for older children due to choking hazards and other risks. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is not safe to let children under age three play with toys with small parts or pieces, and children under age eight should avoid toys with sharp edges and points.

Study instructions

Before letting your kids play with a new toy or gadget, read the instructions carefully. Go over how to use the item with your children. Decide whether or not kids will be allowed to play with it unsupervised. If you aren’t comfortable that your kids can use the item safely, don’t let them play with it.

Check recalls

Thousands of products are recalled every year due to safety problems. You can check out recalls for toys, electronics and other household items by visiting the Consumer Product Safety Commission, where you can also sign up to get emails about future recalls. You can also report unsafe products. ConsumerAffairs.com also has an extensive recall library.  Use the search box to look for specific items.

Remember online safety

If Santa brings your family a new tablet, laptop, phone, or other device that gets Internet access, make sure you enable filtering software or parental monitoring. Before your kids use their new gadgets to go online, remind them not to post or share personal information or photos that could fall into the wrong hands.

Make sure computer and video games are age-appropriate

Computer and video games are popular holiday gifts, but not all games are created for kids. To check which games are age-appropriate, check the Entertainment Software Rating Board(ESRB) ratings.

Watch out for expensive app downloads

Kids may be eager to download applications to their new electronic devices, but be aware that some supposedly free apps can actually end up costing you quite a bit of money. Using any device or account that is linked to a credit card can lead to unexpected costs, especially if it isn’t secured to prevent purchases when children use it.