Every year, kids make their list of the toys they want most. The Consumer Product Safety Commission also compiles a list each year-of toys that posed the greatest risk to children.
These gifts make the list either because they fall apart and pose a choking hazard, are made with dangerous components or materials, or don’t operate properly. A group called WATCH-World Against Toys that Cause Children Harm-puts out this list. They say that although they do not test the toys, they provide early warning for parents based on common-sense hazards.
Some toys are often found on the shelves of big-box stores even as they’re being recalled. So this year, keep your receipts and watch out for these dangerous toys.
- BUD Wheely Cute Pull Along. This toy has wheels that break easily and can come apart, posing a choking hazard for younger children. This toy was recalled on June 2015 but similar toys with the same problem were still available online.
- Foam Dart Gun. After a 12-year-old was killed in Chicago while playing with a realistic toy gun, this toy has been flagged even though it works properly and poses no hazard in and of itself, but simply because it looks very real.
- Stats Quick-Folding Trampoline. This trampoline has no safety enclosure but is marketed to children six and under. WATCH says that although this small trampoline is made for kids that young, it’s not appropriate for small children.
- Smack Shot. Smack shot is a toy similar to a slingshot that can fire it’s shot more than 100 feet and has the potential to cause eye injuries.
- The Kickflipper is a rigid plastic board that is marketed as a “skateboard without wheels.” However, the packaging makes no mention of safety gear, and none of the kids pictured are wearing any.
If your children received any of these toys for Christmas, they should probably quietly disappear in the night, or if your children are old enough, explain why they are dangerous and shouldn’t be played with anymore.
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