Before you head out to do a little holiday shopping, an advocacy group is warning you to stay away from purchasing a few specific toys.
World Against Toys Causing Harm — better known as W.A.T.C.H. — has released a list of the 10 worst toys of 2024 in terms of their potential for injuries. This is the nonprofit organization’s 52nd annual list.
In a press release, W.A.T.C.H. says its goal is to identify toys that represent “safety traps” parents should avoid when shopping for their kids, emphasizing “the need to guard against potential hazards associated with certain toys currently on the market, including toy guns that may be mistaken for real weapons, plush toys that pose suffocation risks, toys with small parts that present choking hazards and projectile toys that could cause eye injuries.”
This year’s list of toys — and the reasons for which they made the list — are:
- Pinovk Toy Colt 45 Pistol: Potential for tragedy from realistic toy weaponry
- Bristle Hedgehog: Potential for ingestion injuries
- Transformers Earthspark Cyber-Sleeve: Potential for eye injuries
- Kinetic Sand Scents – Ice Cream Treats: Potential for ingestion injuries
- Wubble Rumblers Inflatable Furious Fist: Potential for blunt force and impact injuries
- Click N’ Play Toy Remote Set: Potential for choking injuries
- Snackles – Sandy: Potential for suffocation injuries
- X-Shot Poppy Playtime: Potential for eye injuries
- Playzone-Fit Tri-Flyer: Potential for impact injuries
- Zoo Jamz Doggy Xylophone: Potential for ingestion and choking injuries
W.A.T.C.H. says that in the U.S., one child receives treatment in an emergency room for a toy-related injury every three minutes. It adds that “unsafe toys continue to put children at risk of injury and death.”
The organization cites figures from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission documenting an estimated 209,500 toy-related injuries that were treated at U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2022. From 2020 to 2022, 29 children reportedly died due to toy-related incidents.
W.A.T.C.H also emphasizes that toys on its list are simply “illustrative of some potential hazards in toys being sold” and that many other hazardous toys lurk on store shelves. The organization urges parents to shop carefully and to “think defensively” about toys and their packaging before giving them to children.
Parents looking for more tips on buying toys safely can check out the article “Choosing Safe Toys for School-Age Kids” at the Nemours Foundation’s KidsHealth website.
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