Usually toys are surrounded by positive news and feelings. Sometimes though there are issues. The annual “Trouble in Toyland” report by the US PIRG Education Fund highlights some of that.
“Over the past 30 years, our annual reports have led to more than 150 recalls of unsafe toys and other regulatory actions. This year we continued to find dangers among some of the most popular toys in the country”, the Fund says in a statement.
It highlights also that Over ohe past 12 months, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with manufacturers and distributors, has announced more than 40 recalls of toys and children’s products totaling over 2.7 million units.
One of the dangerous toys this year are slime products. Several of them contain “dangerously high levels of boron” which is a toxic material. If kids ingest slime with boron, they can become sick or have other health-issues.
Also on the list are latex balloons. They pose a choking hazard to young kids — but often have no warning labels. WashPIRG says 87 percent of the latex balloons marketed to parents of children under 2 years old had no choking hazard labels, as required by law.
The “Trouble in Toyland” report also warns about internet-connected toys. They can be vulnerable to hacker attacks. So, parents should carefully reed the privacy policy of the said toy.
The Toy Association though didn’t like the report at all. “Year after year, organizations like PIRG come out with these reports and they are filled with false and misleading information – intentionally to scare parents. What parents can be assured is that all toys sold in the United States need to comply with some of the strictest requirements…with these requirements,” said VP Toy Association VP Rebecca Mond to CNN.
Either way, parents should always be careful and read the labels of new toys they want to buy. At the very least some toys have age groups which is a good idea to follow.
