Christmas is coming and toys can be dangerous

Nov 24 2005

Even though toys today are safer than ever before, parents shopping for Christmas presents for their children are being warned to be aware of the hidden hazards some toys present.

Years of work by product safety advocates, parents and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), have ensured the toy market is a relatively safe place.

However the 2005 Trouble in Toyland report, the 20th annual Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) survey of toy safety, nevertheless provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys for small children and gives examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

In the report PIRG’s research focused on four danger areas:

• toys that may pose choking hazards,

• toys that may pose strangulation hazards,

• toys that are excessively loud, and

• toys that contain potentially toxic chemicals.

The PIRG researchers visited numerous toy stores and other retailers to find potentially dangerous toys and identify trends in toy safety.

The main concerns include:

• Choking Hazards - choking on small parts, small balls and balloons remains a leading cause of toy-related deaths and injuries.

Between 1990 and 2004, at least 157 children died after choking or asphyxiating on a toy or toy part; seven children died in 2004 alone.

The researchers still found toys for children under three with small parts, and toys with small parts for children under six without the statutory choke hazard warning label.

Many toys were over-labelled by the placement of choke hazard warnings on items that did not contain small parts.

Balloons, which cause more choking deaths than any other children’s product, are still marketed specifically for children under age three.

• Strangulation hazards - ASTM safety standards are enforceable by CPSC, but the researchers found that the popular yo-yo water ball poses particular hazards to young children, including strangulation and other injury to the eyes, neck and face, while new versions of the toy contain batteries to make the toy flash which can tear through the toy easily, posing a choking hazard if swallowed.

The toy has been banned in some states.

• Loud toys - according to a study in 1998, almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss.

New acoustics standard for toys, were set in 2003 and the loudness threshold for most handheld toys is 90 decibels; prolonged exposure to sounds at 85 decibels or higher can result in hearing damage.

The researchers found that some toys did not meet the ASTM standards for loud toys.

• Toxic chemicals in toys - some toys can pose hidden hazards, exposing children to dangerous chemicals that are linked to serious health problems.

The researchers found that play cosmetic sets included nail polish containing toxic chemicals, such as toluene and xylene.

The researchers also found toys containing toxic chemical phthalates which are banned elsewhere in the world in toys and childcare products.

• Other toy hazards - include many toys where additional safety precautions as well as adult supervision are required, such as scooters and other riding toys, which cause more toy-related injuries every year than any other category of toy.

Children are vulnerable to a wide range of injuries when using both motorized and non-motorized riding toys.

• Purchasing toys on the net - as yet there is no requirement for online retailers to include hazard warnings on their websites.

Parents and other consumers shopping for children need to be vigilant and remember that not all toys are tested for safety and examine toys carefully for potential dangers before purchasing, and report unsafe toys or toy-related injuries to the CPSC.