‘Trouble in Toyland’ list for 2014 shows toxic toys and choking hazards
From 2001 until 2012 there were 238 recorded toy related deaths for children under the age of 15 and 40 percent of those were from choking.
The United States Public Interest Research Group’s 29th annual “Trouble in Toyland” report came out on 12/01/14. This year the report found some toys are unsafe because they are choking hazards or have concentrations of toxins exceeding federal standards.
If you’re buying toys online this season you’ll also see new warnings listed that were not posted last year.
“You don’t want to be dealing with this after the child’s had it for year and sucking on it,” says Euthym Kontaxis, MD, Medical Director, Tennity Emergency Department, Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert. “What you want to do is when you buy a toy you do a quick search and say this potentially say could this have toxins in it. look on the recall websites and make sure your toy is not being recalled,” says Kontaxis.
Parents also need to make sure their children don’t eat the batteries that come in toys.
“One of the concerns i have the electronic toys with the small disk batteries. Those can be very toxic if they are ingested, they can do scaring to the esophagus and stomach,” says Kontaxis.
“Some of the most dangerous hazards posed by toys are invisible. That’s because they contain toxic substances like lead and chromium and chemicals like phthalates,” says Student Public Interest Research Group Political Director Sujatha Jahagirdar.
“As a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the choke hazard warning and other labels that are required to be in toy packaging are also required to be visible online. So, even though you can’t touch the toy or manipulate it in your hands, you can see the important safety information and that’s a hugely important stride,” says Legislative Director and Senior Counsel for Consumer Federation of America Rachel Weintraub.
