Fidget spinners possible summer hazards for kids
Toothpick crossbow craze has China quivering
BOSTON, June 22, (Agencies): The wildly popular fidget spinners that seem to be in the hands of the half the children in the US are also potentially dangerous, a consumer watchdog group warned Wednesday.
The small plastic and metal spinners, already banned in many schools because they distract students, can fall apart, and the small pieces can create a choking hazard, Boston-based World Against Toys Causing Harm said in its summer safety report , released on the first day of summer.
Children in Texas and Oregon have been taken to hospitals recently after choking on fidget spinner pieces, W.A.T.C.H. said. One required surgery. German customs officials last week destroyed 39 tons of the hand-held whirling gizmos over safety concerns.
“Do not be lulled into a false sense of security that a toy is safe simply because it is popular,” organization President Joan Siff said.
The group also warned about the fire dangers posed by lithium batteries in hoverboards; the potential for blunt force injuries from plastic weapons based on superhero movies; and impact injuries from non-motorized scooters.
Not all the possible summer safety hazards on the W.A.T.C.H. list had to do with children’s playthings. It also includes warnings about water safety, and the risks posed by clothing drawstrings.
W.A.T.C.H doesn’t tell the whole story and “tends to needlessly frighten parents,” said Joan Lawrence, vice president of safety standards at The Toy Association, an industry group of toy manufacturers and retailers, which helps develop safety standards. Toy safety is highly regulated under federal law, she said.
Lawrence, known as the “toy safety mom” pointed out that hoverboards and non-motorized scooters are not considered toys under federal regulatory definitions.
The Toy Association last month issued its own guidelines for parents thinking of buying fidget spinners, including following age recommendations on the packaging, buying only from reputable retailers, and inspecting them frequently for loose parts.
“Look at it before you buy it,” she said. “If it’s not age graded, put it down.”
Handheld crossbows that can fire out needles and nails are the latest must-have toy in China but anxious parents want them banned before a young child gets blinded or worse.
Selling online and in shops for as little as seven yuan ($1), so-called toothpick crossbows were originally designed to shoot out just that — toothpicks.
But if swapped out for needles they are potent enough to crack glass, said the Shanghai Daily newspaper, quoting shop owners as saying they were selling out of the “toys” fast and struggling to meet demand.
Other Chinese state media said the mini crossbows can fire at a distance of more than 20 metres (65 feet) and shoot iron nails in place of toothpicks.
“The ‘Toothpick Crossbow’ toy has spread across China like wildfire among the nation’s primary and middle school children,” said the Shanghai Daily.
“The unusual shooting toy may be very small but it is powerful enough to puncture a balloon and pierce cardboard. And when the toothpick is swapped for a metal needle it becomes a dangerous weapon.”
Police in Chengdu, a major city in China’s southwest, have reportedly stopped sales of the product and concerned parents across the country want the government to issue a nationwide ban.
“Hurry up (and ban them), pupils do not understand and are just shooting people for fun. It will cause accidents sooner or later,” one parent wrote on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like website. Another worried onlooker wrote: “Our primary school began to investigate this from Monday and they’re very dangerous.”