PIRG warns consumers that
toys aren’t all fun and games
■Toys may bring a smile
to a child’s face, but they can
also bring a child to the hospital
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Bouncing balls and marbles
may seem like perfect stocking
stuffers, but consumer advocates
warn holiday shoppers to think
twice before buying small toys
for young children.
According to the 16th annual
survey of hazardous toys released
by the national Public Interest Re
search Group in November, the
leading cause of toy-related
deaths is choking on small toy"
parts, balls and balloons.
In 2000, six children died from
choking on a toy, according to
the U.S. Consumer Product Safe
ty Commission.
Just because a toy is in the
store doesn’t mean it is safe, said
Kayla Barnes, an Oregon Student
Public Interest Research Group
consumer advocate.
She advises parents and others
buying toys to use common sense,
rather than going by product labels
for age-appropriateness.
“If your kids put things in their
mouth all the time, don’t buy
small toys for them,” Barnes said.
A cardboard toilet paper roll
provides an easy way to test
whether a toy is small enough for
a child to choke on, Barnes
added. If a toy fits through the
tube, a child may be able to
choke on it, she said.
Other potential toy hazards in
the PIRG report include hearing
loss caused by toys with high
noise levels and accidents with
toy scooters.
Between January 2001 and July
2001, scooters were involved in
68,530 injuries serious enough to
warrant a hospital emergency
room visit, according to CPSC.
The PIRG survey also includes
a list of recalled and dangerous
toys, meant to give consumers an
example of what to watch for, but
is not all-inclusive, Barnes said.
She said shoppers should re
member that not all toys are test
ed by CPSC, and some toys have
no safety warning labels. Hazard
warnings are especially lax in
online toy retailers — of the 44
Web sites PIRG studied, only
three included any safety label
ing, and those retailers did not
post safety information consis
tently, according to the report.
Toy industry trade groups have
attacked the PIRG report. Toy In
dustry Association spokesman
"If your kids put things
in their mouth all the time,
don’t buy small toys
for them.”
Kayla Barnes
OSPIRG consumer advocate
Frank DiLiberto said organiza
tions such as PIRG use “scare tac
tics” to convince consumers that
toys are not safe.
Unlike the PIRG report, which
comes out just once a year, he
said, TIA makes safety a priority
throughout the year, with safety
tips and links to toy manufactur
ers on the trade group’s Web site.
“One of the things we try to
stress is that toys are among the
safest products brought into the
home,” he said.
Toy industry groups have also
criticized a section of the PIRG
report that warns consumers of
the dangers of phthalates, chem
icals used to soften plastic toys.
Phthalates are toxic chemicals
that are linked to liver and kid
ney damage, Barnes said. The
European Union has banned the
chemicals in all toys for children
under age three, she added.
The TIA maintains that ph
thalates pose no danger to chil
dren. According to a statement
released by the group in re
sponse to the PIRG report, “over
40 years of independent and
government-sponsored research”
have given phthalates a “clean
bill of health.”
Jan Inouye is a lead teacher at
the EMU Child Care and Devel
opment Center. She has worked
in child care for 17 years and
said she agreed with the majority
of the safety tips provided in the
PIRG report. Many of the toy haz
ards mentioned in the PIRG re
port, such as balloons, are
banned in the child care center,
she said.
She questioned using a card
board toilet paper tube to test
whether toy was choke-proof,
however, because she thought it
was too big to provide an accurate
measure. Instead, she suggested
parents or others who were un
sure about the safety of a toy to
ask a child care professional.
Pull toys or toy telephones
with string cords can pose a
strangulation risk, as well, she
said, because young children
may wrap the cords around their
necks. The PIRG safety guide
notes that toys for children under
three should not have a cord
longer than 12 inches, but Inouye
recommended a maximum
length closer to 6 inches.
“Children, especially toddlers,
just love to put things around
their bodies,” she said.
The full PIRG toy hazard report,
“Trouble in Toyland,” is available
online at www.toysafety.net.
Emerald student activities reporter Kara
Cogswell can be reached at
karacogswell@dailyemeraid.com.
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