Report highlights Trouble in Toyland
The holiday shopping season is coming and many adults will soon hit the stores seeking toys for the little ones in their lives. But many of those toys carry unexpected dangers.
Some are unexpected choking hazards. Some contain harmful chemicals. Some are just too darn loud for young, sensitive ears.
“There can be this mindset of ‘Well, they wouldn’t sell it if it wasn’t safe,’ ” said Dr. Steven Rogers, a pediatric emergency physician at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. “But that isn’t always the case.”
Rogers was among others at CCMC Monday when the consumer group ConnPIRG unveiled its annual Trouble in Toyland report, which lists some of the most harmful types of toys on the market. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 17 toyrelated deaths in the 2018 calendar year among children younger than 15. There also were 226,100 toyrelated injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2018.
Roughly half of toyrelated injuries happen to children younger than 5, Rogers said, which is a vulnerable group. To best protect children, he said, parents and other caring adults need to take a close look at products before buying them.
“Parents need to be aware, and to ask themselves ‘Is this safe for my kid?’ ” Rogers said.
Here are some of the most dangerous kinds of toys, according to the “Trouble in Toyland” report:
Choking hazards: Children younger than 3 can choke on toys that contain small pieces. While toys are supposed to be labeled if they have small parts, many of them aren’t. Examples mentioned in the report include the recently recalled Ubbi Connecting bath toys.
Balloons: These colorful latex items are the primary cause of suffocation deaths in children, according to the report, as children can accidentally inhale balloons while inflating them.
Loud noises: Loud toys aren’t just annoying — they can actually hurt children’s hearing. For example, Haktoys’ ATS Battery Operated Bump & Go Action 8 Police Car played sounds reaching 89 decibels. The Kicko Toy Gun Blue LightUp Noise Blaster reached more than 87 decibels. According to the Hearing Health Foundation, prolonged exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause gradual hearing loss.
Toys Intended for Teens and Adults: Sometimes children get gifts meant for older people, which aren’t always held to the same high safety standards as those for kids. For instance, the report states that the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner has 300 times the allowable level of lead.
Strong magnets: Powerful magnets used in various construction sets and other toys can cause serious harm if swallowed.
Toxic elements: Toxic contaminants, such as lead, boron and cadmium can make their way into kids’ products. This includes some popular slime products, including the DIY 3Pack of Rainbow Cosmic Slime Shakers, which include a mixing agent that contained 75 times the European Union standard for boron. Cadmium, meanwhile, can be found in lots of children’s jewelry.
Cybersecurity hazards: “Smart toys,” such as the My Friend Cayla doll or the Furby Connect have recorded children’s voice or kept histories of the data they entered. These toys can be security risks that leave families vulnerable to hacking.
Previously recalled toys: Even after toys get recalled, some can still be found for sale on line on such sites as eBay. Ones spotlighted in the report include INNOCHEER’s Kds Musical Instrument Set, recalled in October 2018 for violating the federal lead paint ban.