Scott Barnett Emerald
OSPIRG student coordinator Jennifer Bums displays one of many toys that parents should
avoid buying their young children because of possible choking hazards.
OSPIRG warns parents
about dangerous toys
■ Dangerous toys include
plastic play jewelry, small
erasers and foam baby blocks.
By Jeremy Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
The hot “must have” toys
change with every Christmas sea
son from Tickle Me Elmo to the
Furby to Pokemon, but, according
to OSPIRG, every year there is a
group of toys that are potentially
dangerous and possibly fatal to
children.
At a Nov. 23 press conference,
OSPIRG released a national report
alerting parents and consumers to
toys this holiday season that can
cause choking, strangling or toxic
chemical hazards.
OSPIRG member Jennifer
Burns, who helped organize the
event at the Spencer View Co-op
Family Center in Eugene, identi
fied 35 toys that OSPIRG said
could be harmful to infants, tod
dlers and young children, based
on a series of their own tests.
“Many times, toys don’t carry
the proper warning labels and par
ents don’t even realize they can be
hazardous,” she said.
The toys on the list included
plastic play jewelry, small erasers,
toy cars with small, breakable
parts, plastic rings, balloons, foam
baby blocks and wooden toys with
pullcords.
To demonstrate, Burns used a
small choke tube to represent a
child’s windpipe and show how
easily small parts can fall off toys
or the toys themselves can choke a
child. She also showed how cords
on toys have the ability to wrap
around and strangle children and
that many teething toys, such as
rattles and foam play books, can be
made out of toxic chemicals such
as thaylates, which Bums said is a
probable human carcinogen, al
though it hasn’t been proven.
ASUO Nontraditional Student
Advocate Kathleen Workman also
spoke with her five-year-old
daughter. She said she has bought
some of the toys on the list for her
Tips for buying safe
toys
Be vigilant shoppers: Shoppers
should examine toys carefully for
hidden dangers before making a
purchase.
If a toy looks unsafe, don't buy it:
if you see small parts or a small
ball or a balloon and don't see a
tough choke hazard warning, call
the Consumer Product Safety
Commission,
Keep small parts away from tod
dlers: Do so particularly if an older
child has toys with small parts.
Be wary in all stores: While the
majority of hazards are found in
drug stores, party stores and dollar
stores, hazardous toys are found in
large national toy stores as well.
SOURCE; PIRG Toy Safety Web site,
www.toysafBty.net
daughter in the past.
“As a parent, I showed that the
impact is real and gave a face to the
danger,” Workman said.
Suzy Blanchard, the director of
Spencer View, agreed that parents
need to be educated on toy safety
and said parents should also know
that they don’t have to spend a lot
of money on elaborate gifts to
please their children.
“Many people stress on how to
pay for so many toys when there
are many simple things that young
children will enjoy,” Blanchard
said.
Workman added she hopes that
not only parents but also child
care providers check the list of
toys and make sure they don’t
have them either.
“Ultimately, I’d like to see that
stores and manufacturers are made
responsible, but it is probably more
reasonable that parents just need to
be informed,” she said.
For more information, access
www.toysafety.net where con
sumers can find a complete list of
the 35 hazardous toys, along with
tips on how to test toys and be safe
in general.
MCAT
Academic
Learning
Services4
Helping Faculty and Students Succeed.
For the 14th year this spring, the University of Oregon will offer
its comprehensive review workshop for the Medical College
Admissions Test. This program provides the very best materials
and instruction at the most reasonable cost including:
• Instruction by University faculty and test preparation experts
• Official practice exams and manuals from AAMC
• Low fee of $380
Schedule: Jan. 15, 22, 29; Feb. 5,12,19, 26;
Mar. 4,11; Apr. 1
9:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-5:00pm
(Includes four full-length practice exams.)
For more information or to register, contact Academic Learning Services
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