Nerf gun, Nickelodeon slime among most unsafe holiday toys of 2019
WATCH has released an annual list for more than 40 years
A Nerf gun and a Power Rangers electronic “Cheetah Claw” are among the toys deemed most unsafe for children during the 2019 holiday season, according to a watchdog group’s annual findings.
World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, identified its top 10 most hazardous toys during a press conference at a Boston-area children’s hospital. The list encompassed toys sold both at traditional brick-and-mortar stores and online outlets such as Amazon.
The Nerf Ultra One dart gun was cited for its ability to fire projectiles that can cause eye injuries, while Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog was named for including removable “quills” that posed a potential choking hazard. Another product, Nickelodeon slime, features “flavors” that could entice children to ingest them despite potentially harmful chemicals.
“Shockingly, classic toy dangers, such as small parts, strings, projectiles, toxic substances, rigid materials, and inaccurate warnings and labels, continue to be manufactured by the toy industry in newly designed packaging,” the group said in a press release.
James Swarrtz, director of World Against Toys Causing Harm, talks about the dangers of the Power Rangers Electronic Cheetah Claw during a news conference in Boston, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
The products on this year’s list ranged in price from $9.99 to $49.99. Many of the products deemed unsafe fail to include adequate warning labels, the group said.
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WATCH has released an annual list of unsafe holiday toys for more than 40 years. In its release, the company cited statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that estimated a total of 251,700 injuries stemming from toys in 2017.
The Toy Association, a toy industry trade group, dismissed the list as inaccurate given federally mandate safety standards that govern which products can be sold to the public.
“By law, all toys sold in the United States must meet 100+ rigorous safety tests and standards,” the toy association said in a statement. “On the other hand, WATCH does not test the toys in its report to check their safety; their allegations appear to be based on their misrepresentation or misunderstanding of the mandatory toy standards.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.