Toys Displayed at New York City Toy Safety News Conference (1)

The Yo-Yo Water Balls are described on pages 11-12, Excessively loud toys are described on pages 14-16 and Toxic toys are described on pages 17-21 of the national report.

Toy Safety Background

Toys should provide a creative and happy outlet for children; yet too often they bring pain and sometimes death. According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), at least 11 children, none older than nine years old, died in 2003 playing with toys. Moreover, of the estimated 206,500 persons treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2003 for toy-related injuries, 71,200 (34%) were under five years old.

Since 1986, NYPIRG has conducted toy safety research and education projects to avoid such tragic and preventable deaths. NYPIRG also has lobbied the CPSC, state legislatures and Congress to protect children from death and injury due to unsafe toys. NYPIRG's advocacy has focused on the leading cause of toy deaths: choking. Since 1990, at least 150 children have choked to death on children's products.

The CPSC's principal responsibility is to ensure that toys (and other products) are safe. Yet, from 1980 to 1993, the CPSC and Congress did little to protect children from dangerous products. In 1994, things began to change for the better. First, President Clinton appointed long-time child safety advocate Ann Brown as chair of the CPSC. Second, after years of battles with the powerful toy lobby, Congress finally passed PIRG's priority child safety proposal, the Child Safety Protection Act ("CSPA"), which took effect in January 1995. For the first time, warning labels were required on toys that contained banned small parts, if intended for older children, and on balloons, small balls and marbles. The CSPA also increased the size of banned small balls, because round objects pose particular choking hazards.

Yet, despite the CPSC's leadership and the regulations in place, parents should remain vigilant. First, the CPSC often lacks the resources to adequately monitor the thousands of new toy products introduced nationally. Second, many companies do not adequately comply with the specifics of the law and allow potentially dangerous toys to be produced, marketed and sold. Third, even when the CPSC does announce a recall of dangerous toys, many toys remain on store shelves or in homes because manufacturers and retailers do not do an adequate job of complying with the recall. Fourth, not all consumers find out about recalls and not all products have the necessary manufacturer information to identify recalled or dangerous toys.

New York Survey Findings

In October and November 2004 a team of 71 field study participants surveyed 45 stores in New York State including toy stores, super stores, drug stores and dollar stores. The purpose of the survey was to identify toys that posed potential hazards to young children. The surveyors identified 178 potentially dangerous toys.

Since more children die and are seriously injured from choking on toys and toy parts than any other toy hazard, the surveyors focused on toys that could pose a choking hazard to small children. They identified 90 toys that could pose a choking hazard. 17 toys identified contained small parts, 21 toys contained near small parts, 2 toys contained small balls, 4 toys contained small ball-like or spherical objects, 11 toys that contain small play food and 3 toys were dangerous latex balloons. 32 toys were identified as choking hazards because they lacked the safety label required by the CSPA.

The surveyors identified 88 toys that could pose other, non-choking hazards to children. They identified 22 toys that could pose strangulation hazards and 17 toys that could pose a laceration hazard due to its sharp edges. Surveyors also identified 10 projectile toys that could pose an eye or face injury to children and 4 toys that could pose other eye/face injuries, 13 toys that was very loud and could damage a child's hearing and 6 toys that could pose a clothing, finger or hair entanglement hazard. They further identified 2 toys that could be flammable, one toy could cause fall-related injuries and 13 potentially toxic toys.

Following are the survey summaries for Upstate New York, New York City and Long Island followed by grids that list each of the toys identified, a key that describes the toy hazards and the labels the surveyor's looked for, and a copy of the form the field study participants used to conduct the toy safety survey. Please see the national report for more background on toy hazards and the current toy safety laws and standards.

findings | upstate new york survey | new york city survey | long island survey | hazard and label key | www.toysafety.net | www.nypirg.org