Safety Group Releases Annual Dangerous Toys List

Risks include choking and suffocation, as well as injuries from shooting toys

By Robert Preidt

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- With the holiday season approaching, the consumer watchdog group World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has released it annual list of the most dangerous toys.

The organization urges parents to be cautious when buying toys this holiday season, noting that since January 2015 there have been recalls involving more than 800,000 individual products, including 500,000 this year alone.

According to WATCH, every three minutes a child is treated in a U.S. emergency room for a toy-related injury. Since January 2015, there have been at least 19 toys with safety defects recalled in the United States. These recalls involved more than 800,000 units of toys -- including 500,000 this year, the group said in a news release.

"Consumers can inspect new toys as well as toys already in homes and schools for dangerous hazards and stay away from any toys that may have been recalled, caused injuries, or are defective. Awareness of classic hidden toy hazards can prevent injuries. Shockingly, classic toy dangers, such as small parts, strings, projectiles, toxic substances, rigid materials, and inaccurate warnings and labels, resurface each year in newly designed toys," the group said.

Here is WATCH's list of the 10 worst toys of 2016, where they're sold and the risks they pose:

Peppa Pig's Muddy Puddles Family. Target, Amazon.com. Choking hazard from small parts.
Kids Time Baby Children's Elephant Pillow. Amazon.com. Suffocation hazard, but no warning.
Slimeball Slinger. Toys 'R' Us, Amazon.com. Slimeball ammunition can be fired with enough force to cause eye injuries.
Banzai Bump N' Bounce Body Bumpers. Walmart, Amazon.com, Ebay.com, Sears.com. Potential for impact injuries.
Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 Blaster. Walmart.com, Target.com, Amazon.com, Kmart.com. Potential for eye injuries but carries no warning.
The Good Dinosaur Galloping Butch. Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Toys 'R' Us.com. Potential for puncture wounds due to pointed tail. Warns about small parts but not about puncture wound threat.
Peppy Pups. Toys 'R' Us. Risk of strangulation due to long cord. Carries no warning.
Flying Heroes Superman Launcher. Toys 'R' Us, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Sears.com, Ebay.com, BigW.com. Risk of eye and facial injuries.
Baby Magic Feed and Play Baby. Toys 'R' Us, Amazon.com, Sears.com. Spoon that comes with doll has the potential to be mouthed and block a child's airway. Has no warning.
Warcraft Doomhammer. Toys 'R' Us, Amazon.com. Risk of blunt impact injuries.

The safety group said the 10 Worst Toys list highlights dangers in certain toys, but parents and other consumers should know that these are not the only potentially hazardous toys on the market.

SOURCE: World Against Toys Causing Harm, news release, Nov. 15, 2016

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