World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, has been compiling lists of the worst toys on the market for over four decades, and they recently unveiled this year’s list.
Some of the toys that made the list this year include a pencil that doubles as a slingshot, a light up bow that shoots arrows up to 145 feet, and a wagon.
Organizers said the toys they selected this year are representative of the issues they typically see in toys they deem unfit. However, they warn that it is not an exhaustive list and there are other potentially dangerous toys on the market.
“It’s not so much about the specific toys. It’s about the hazards,” said James Swartz, the director of WATCH, at a news conference at the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston. He explained that many toys still have hazardous designs such as small parts that infants can choke on, strings that can strangulate, projectiles, and misleading or confusing directions.
“There’s no reason, after all these years, we should have toys like this,” Swartz said as the group displayed each of the 10 toys. “We shouldn’t be finding these things for manufacturers. They should be designing them appropriately in the first place.”
[Image: Shutterstock]
The companies who found themselves on the list, of course, disagree with the decision.
Dr. Penny Norman, who developed Science Wiz’s bottle rocket kit back in 2005 was surprised to be found on the list. “It’s a time-honored event for children,” Norman said of launching the water or baking soda-and-vinegar-powered rockets. “But it isn’t about children being set loose to play with them on their own. It’s absolutely about adults running a bottle rocket party event safely.”
Robert Pasin, the “Chief Wagon Officer” of Radio Flyer insisted that his company’s four-wheeled “Ziggle” cycle is safe. “For more than 97 years Radio Flyer has been producing high-quality products for children. We test and research all of our products,” he said. WATCH included his product on the list because they claimed it was too low to the ground.
The Toy Industry Association of America said American toy safety standards “remain the most protective in the world.” In addition, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that regulates toys, “consistently” ranks toys among the safest of 15 consumer product categories in the home.
“As an industry that creates magical products for children, we hold ourselves to the highest possible standard of care,” the association said in a statement. “Like WATCH, members of the toy industry are intent on assuring that the toys consumers bring into their homes are safe for their families. Unlike WATCH, we maintain our priority focus on toy safety every day of the year.”
View the full list below:
- “Air Storm Firetek Bow” by Zing
- “Ziggle” four-wheeled cycle by Radio Flyer
- “Catapencil” by Toysmith
- “Alphabet Zoo Rock & Stack Pull Toy” by Skip Hop
- “SWAT Electric Machine Gun” by Junxing Toys Industrial Co.
- “Wooden Instruments” sold at Wal-Mart
- “Bottle Rocket Party” by Norman & Globus (ScienceWiz)
- “Lil’ Cutesies-Best Friends” doll by JC Toys Group
- “True Legends Orcs Battle Hammer” sold at Toys R Us
- “Colored Hedgehog” plush toy sold at Toys R Us