One consumer safety group is making a list and checking it twice—for the worst toys of the holidays. World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, unveiled its Top 10 on Tuesday. Fidget spinners, plastic swords, and remote-controlled drones top the list.
WATCH claims fidget spinners contain small parts that can be a choking hazard. Mattel’s Wonder Woman sword could cause blunt-force trauma. And Marvel’s Spider-Man drone? Rotating blades that can lead to bodily injuries.
The Toy Association, an industry trade group, dismisses the list as “needlessly frightening” to parents. They insist all toys sold in the United States meet “rigorous” safety standards. But WATCH President Joan Siff says national toy safety standards are “inadequate”—as seen by the high number of recalls each year.
Siff stresses the toys on WATCH’s Top 10 have common hazards that the group sees every year. She points to the “Pull Along Pony” by Tolo Toys. It has a 19-inch cord. “We don’t need a testing lab to know that’s a strangulation and entanglement hazard,” Siff says.
With consumers doing more holiday shopping online, it’s important to have the most current information about toy safety, Siff warns. For example, Hallmark’s “Itty Bittys” plush stacking toy for babies was recalled over the summer due to fabric pieces that posed a choking hazard. But the toy still is available online because web sales are rarely monitored for recalls.
Among the other toys on this year’s WATCH list is Nerf’s “Zombie Strike” crossbow. The organization says it poses the risk of eye and face injuries because it uses a pressurized, pull-back lever to shoot soft projectiles. Razor’s “Heel Wheels” turn children’s shoes into improvised roller skates—but pose a burn risk because they include “real sparking action.”
Do you think the government should regulate toys? How much regulation is too much?
(AP Photo: WATCH’s Jason Swartz demonstrates Nerf’s “Zombie Strike” crossbow.)
