'Trouble in Toyland' report cautions parents about buying children's toys online
Ahead of the holidays, consumer watchdogs are warning parents not to buy dangerous toys from international sellers for prices that are "too good to be true."
At a news conference Friday about the Trouble in Toyland 2024 report at Lurie Children’s Hospital, Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said some toys shipped directly to consumers from overseas companies get past regulations.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with U.S. Customs agents, confiscated about 1.6 million dangerous toys in 2024, 100,000 of which contained lead. Other toys had pieces that could break off but the packaging lacked choking hazard labels, according to Scarr.
“There are legal loopholes that often allow these [shipped] toys to circumvent the traditional inspection process,” Scarr said. “In many cases, companies may claim what they’re bringing in are shoes or household items, when, in fact, they’re toys or other items that are supposed to meet strict safety guidelines.”
Scarr advised parents to be wary of all online purchases, especially those with prices that are “too good to be true.” He recommended avoiding buying directly from international sites with long shipping times or strange return policies — often a sign a product is coming straight to a buyer. Parents also should be wary of buying toys on platforms such as eBay and Facebook marketplace, where recalled toys often pop up.
Instead, Scarr recommends buying from known brands, and if buying elsewhere, to look for reviews and inspect toys for signs of counterfeit such as weird smells or incorrect markings.
The Kindly busy board, made by a company in Vietnam, had a warning issued by the CPSC in October 2024 because the small parts could break off easily and pose a choking hazard, though the company didn’t respond. It couldn’t enforce a recall because the company is outside the U.S.
Illinois Public Interest Research Group
About a third of the 3,400 warning notices issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission this year were for toys, according to Scarr. He said the sheer volume of toys — with about 1 billion being shipped yearly, up from 140 million a few years ago — makes regulators’ jobs difficult.
Water beads, which have been tied to a child’s death and more than 6,000 hospitalizations, were in the report again.
“The important thing to remember about water beads is no amount of supervision will keep your child safe,” said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, a Chicago product safety organization. “These are not toys.”
The report again highlighted the dangers of smart toys with internet connections that can collect data about children and make them vulnerable to exploitation. Cowles said issues with smart toys will increase as more hit the market.
“When toys interact with a child in a way that uses AI, or is connected somehow, or someone else can get on it or the company can gather data, I think that’s not something parents are expecting or looking for,” Cowles said. “So we really have to be on guard.”