Survey Finds Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Shopping Tips, Mobile Website Can Help Parents Shop Safe

Maryland PIRG Foundation

Baltimore, Nov. 20 –Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to Maryland Public Interest Research Group’s 27th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

This morning Maryland PIRG Foundation released the report, revealing the results of laboratory testing on toys for lead, cadmium and phthalates, all of which have been proven to have serious adverse health impacts on the development of young children.  The survey also found small toys that pose a choking hazard, extremely loud toys that threaten children’s hearing, and toy magnets that can cause serious injury. 

The Trouble in Toyland report also includes a list of dangerous toys that surveyors found on toy store shelves. The list includes a dangerous magnet toy, a bowling game that is a choking hazard and a cell phone rattle that is harmful to little ears.

 “We should be able to trust that the toys we buy are safe. However, until that’s the case, parents need to watch out for common hazards when shopping for toys,” said Jenny Levin, Advocate for Maryland PIRG. 

Dr. Bryan Rudolph, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York and a member of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, said, “The Trouble in Toyland report appropriately alerts parents and consumers to the dangers of high-powered magnets, such as those sold in sets of 100 or more, and the life-threatening gastrointestinal injuries they can cause when swallowed.”  He continued, “The rising number of magnet injuries in children and teenagers suggests that the sale of high-powered magnets should be prohibited.  In the meantime, the best defense against high-powered magnet ingestion and a trip to the emergency department is to make sure they are not present where children, live, visit or play.”

For 27 years, the Maryland PIRG Trouble in Toyland report has offered safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provided examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards.  The group also provides an interactive website with tips for safe toy shopping that consumers can access on their smartphones at www.toysafety.mobi.   

Key findings from the report include: 

• Toys with high levels of toxic substances are still on store shelves. We found toys which contained phthalates, as well as toys with lead content above the 100 parts per million limit.
• Despite a ban on small parts in toys for children under three, we found toys available in stores that still pose choking hazards.
• We also found toys that are potentially harmful to children’s ears and exceed the noise standards recommended by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
• We discovered small powerful magnets that pose a dangerous threat to children if swallowed.

“Parents and toy givers need to remember that while the CPSC is doing a good job, no government agency tests all toys before they hit store shelves.  Consumers should also remember that toys that are not on our list of examples could also pose hazards,” Levin concluded. “The message of today is clear. Parents have to stay vigilant.  We cannot and must not accept any weakening of our consumer and public health safeguards because they protect young children, America’s littlest consumers.”