No matter the occasion or time of year, children look forward to receiving toys as gifts. But there are some things to consider when picking out toys for children, especially younger ones.
Consider the size of the toy
Small toys, or toys that can break down into smaller pieces, can easily be choking hazards for smaller children. If you have a toy that can freely pass through a toilet paper roll without getting stuck, or if the toy or pieces of the toy are smaller than the size of the child’s fist, those are the toys a child may choke on and you want to avoid them.
Check for toy recalls
It is illegal to sell toys that have been recalled, though sometimes they still end up on store shelves or on reselling marketplaces. Toys can be recalled for a variety of reasons, including:
- Posing a choking hazard
- Containing high-powered magnets
- Having easily accessible button or coin batteries
- Including toxic chemicals, such a lead or phthalates
Small batteries and high-powered magnets can be choking hazards on their own, but they also carry additional risks. If swallowed, high-powered magnets can cause internal damage and often require surgery to be removed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has a list of some high-powered magnet toys to reconsider as well as recalls related to magnets.
Similarly, coin or button batteries present a choking hazard to small children, but they also can cause life-threatening burn injuries if swallowed or serious disfiguring injuries if lodged in the nose or ears. If a toy that uses small batteries does not require a screw or a tool to close the battery compartment, those toys should not be given to small children. The CPSC has a fact sheet on products that commonly contain these batteries and what to do if someone does swallow one.
Water beads
Water beads are especially dangerous for children three years old and younger—these tiny beads are generally brightly colored and look like candy. Made of a super-absorbent polymer, these tiny beads can grow to 100 times their original size when exposed to water and can cause blockages of the intestines that require surgery to treat.
Water beads are difficult to see if they fall on the ground and roll away, but small children, especially babies, manage to find them and either swallow them or sometimes insert the beads into their ears or nose. The CPSC has a webpage about water bead safety and what to do if you suspect anyone has ingested water beads.
Hoverboards, e-scooters and e-bikes
Hoverboards, e-scooters and e-bikes are popular with kids and grown-ups alike as an alternative method of traveling short distances. They also pose significant threats to safety. First and foremost, e-scooters and e-bikes may travel up to 28 miles per hour or even faster and often weigh up to 50 pounds. Despite their increasing popularity, there are very few laws to limit their speed and who can drive them. As a result, we see children as young as 11 to 12 years old riding e-bikes without helmets and no knowledge of the rules of the road. This combination has resulted in life-threatening and completely preventable injuries, such as devastating traumatic brain injuries, serious injuries to internal organs, and multiple fractures.
According to a CPSC report, there were an estimated 360,800 emergency department visits related to all of these devices from 2017 through 2022. Both electronic and “manual” scooters and bikes can lead to injuries—but the electronic versions pose an added threat of fire. The lithium ion, or Li-Ion, batteries that these devices use have been known to catch fire or explode. These batteries are used in a variety of products, including smartphones, laptops, and power tools, but if the batteries are damaged or used incorrectly, they can overheat and catch fire. And the batteries used in motorized scooters and bikes are large, leading to bigger and more explosive overheating. The National Fire Protection Association has more information on safely charging and storing hoverboard, electronic scooters and bikes.
AI-enabled toys
“Artificial intelligence” is everywhere these days, and toys are no exception. Mattel and OpenAI, the company that produces ChatGPT, announced a partnership earlier this year, and now we’re seeing toys with built in AI chatbots for children as young as three years old.
The hitch is that even OpenAI says that ChatGPT is not meant for children under 13, and requires parental consent for children between 13 and 18. The Public Interest Research Group recently tested four AI-enabled toys currently available, and found that in some cases, the toys would discuss very adult sexual topics.
These toys were also capable of listening and recording voices, which they need to do to have conversations and function as advertised. However, there are many concerns about the privacy of data recording and those recordings being used to scam parents into thinking their children have been kidnapped.
Safe gifting any time of year
Whether you’re picking out a holiday gift, birthday gift, or just because gift, make sure you keep your child’s safety top of mind. You can find additional toy safety tips on the Safe Kids or Healthy Children websites.
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