Watchdog Group Names Top 10 Worst Toys For Safety

danger

During the holidays, parents love to buy toys and children love to play with them. But safety is also of primary importance. Unfortunately, not all toys are safe.

The consumer group The World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (WATCH) just released its nominees for the 10 Worst Toys for the 2016 holiday. These toys are dangerous to kids because of choking, impact injury and strangulation hazards.

This is WATCH’s 44th year of targeting dangerous products and publicizing which ones parents and other gift-buyers should avoid.

Toy-Related Injuries All Too Frequent

WATCH notes that 61 children were killed in toy-related accidents between 2010 and 2014. In 2014 alone, 251,000 children suffered toy-related injuries. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, 516 children have to be taken to emergency rooms every day for injuries related to toys. More than a third are 5 years old or younger.

The numbers, unfortunately, have been rising over decades. From 1990 to 2011, toy-related injuries in kids rose 40%. WATCH attributes the rise to poor design, poor manufacturing, and poor safety considerations.

It makes the holidays a potentially dangerous time. More than 65% of toy sales take place in the holiday season.

Since last year, over 800,000 toys have been recalled. Over half a million of these recalls happened in 2016 alone. Nineteen toys were deemed to have safety defects yanked from shelves.

10 Worst Toys for 2016

Here is a list of WATCH’s 10 Worst Toys and the reasons they are unsafe.

  1. Peppa Pig’s Muddy Puddles Family. Issue: choking hazards.
  2. The Kids Time Baby Children’s Elephant Pillow. Issue: potential suffocation, and no warning label.
  3. The Slimeball Slinger. Issue: risk of eye injury. The slingshot can travel more than 30 feet.
  4. The Banzai Bump n’ Bounce Body Bumpers. Issue: impact hazards or bodily harm, and no protective equipment.
  5. The Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 Blaster. Issue: risk of eye injuries.
  6. The Good Dinosaur Galloping Butch. Issue: risk of skin puncture from a pointy, rigid dinosaur tail.
  7. Peppy Pups. Issue: strangulation risk in young children from a 31-inch pull string.
  8. The Flying Heroes Superman Launcher. Issue:  eye injury hazards from the launcher.
  9. The Baby Magic Feed and Play Baby. Issue: choking hazards from small pieces. No warning given.
  10. The Warcraft Doomhammer. Issue: Potential bodily harm from the heavy, rigid hammer. Children may see the Doomhammer used as a weapon on video game or movie, and then attempt to use is that way themselves, which increases the risk.

Product defects and legal recourse

The product liability attorneys at The Sanders Firm condemn the reckless design and manufacture of toys that cause harm to children. We offer sound legal guidance to victims who have suffered injury because of dangerous and recalled products.

Learn more about your rights to compensation by scheduling a free case evaluation. 1-800-FAIR-PLAY.

Resources

  1. Safe Kids Worldwide. “Toy Safety.” https://www.safekids.org/safetytips/field_risks/toy-safety
  2. World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (WATCH). “W.A.T.C.H. Reveals Nominees for ‘10 Worst Toys’ for 2016 Holiday Season. November 15, 2016. https://toysafety.org/toy-safety/2016-10-worst-toy-list/