Families try to do everything to protect their children year-round, but the holidays present certain challenges, like unsafe toys that have small parts, sharp edges, and other hazards. Organizations like World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (W.A.T.C.H.) are devoted to increasing awareness about the worst offenders. W.A.T.C.H. creates a list each year that lets the public know what to avoid when buying toys. Here is the organization’s 10 Worst Toys List for 2022:
- Cocomelon Musical Learning Watch: Potential for battery ingestion injuries.
- Disney Raya’s Action and Adventure Sword: Potential for blunt force, eye injuries.
- Li’l Woodzeez Tickle-Your-Taste-Buds Bakery: Potential for choking injuries.
- Zeus Lion: Potential for aspiration or ingestion injuries.
- Dingray Musical Bath Toy: Potential for ingestion, choking injuries.
- Ooze Labs Chemistry Station: Potential for chemical-related injuries.
- Bunny Rabbit Cuddly Pillow: Potential for suffocation injuries.
- Pop’n Fidget Spinners: Potential for choking injuries.
- Nerf Pro Gelfire Mythic Blasters: Potential for eye and facial injuries.
- Black Panther Wakanda Battle Claws: Potential for eye and facial injuries.
Even the most innocent-looking toys can be dangerous when they are defective. Examples include stuffed animals, rocking toys, action figures, and scooters. Toys with electronic components can cause burns when they overheat, while different toys might have detachable parts that fall off and turn into choking hazards.
How can parents keep their children safe from hazardous toys? Reading the age grade on the packaging is the first step. These guidelines are based on safety and choking risks, physical and developmental skills needed to use the toy, and how the toy fits in with the age group’s abilities and needs. Ones made from natural materials, like uncoated wood, wool, and cotton, are generally safer.
Once toys are opened, read the instructions and dispose of the packaging. Also, check the toys for damage, and monitor younger children while they are playing.
Be Careful This Holiday Season
The W.A.T.C.H. list has been around for 50 years, but accidents still happen. New toys with toxic substances, rigid materials, projectiles, and other hazards still come out on the market, and many have inaccurate warning labels. Unfortunately, there have been disfigurements, disabilities, and child fatalities from dangerous toys. In 2020, there were approximately 198,000 toy-related injuries among children aged 14 years old and younger in the United States, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
A manufacturer could be responsible for a defective toy. Tracing the path of liability can be complicated and can be especially difficult to deal with if you have an injured child. If your child has been injured by a defective toy, you might be able to file a products liability claim with help from a lawyer.
Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC Can Help You if Your Child Has Been Injured by a Defective Toy
If your child has been injured by a defective toy, speak with one of our knowledgeable Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC. Call us at 215-569-8488 or complete our online form to schedule a free consultation today. Located in Philadelphia and Abington, Pennsylvania, as well as Wilmington, Delaware, we serve clients throughout the surrounding areas.