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Pamela Poole: Talk About a Choking Hazard! What I Never Expected to…
Batman Toy Dangerous? Really? Because Of Its Ears?!
Filed under: Opinions
Why are we so obsessed with a Santa sack full of danger? Toys are not manufactured by evil trolls in the mountains of Mattel to explode on contact, or poison the pretties, or break off into chewable, chokeable chunks. And yet every Christmas since 1973, out comes the list from W.A.T.C.H. (that's World Against Toys Causing Harm): "The 10 Most Dangerous Toys."
Are these things really going to maim and kill our kids? Let's take a look.
One of the toys on this year's list -- reprinted everywhere from the Today Show website to the Huffington Post -- is the Dark Knight Batman Action Figure. While the thing's $39.98 price tag could easily give any parent a heart attack, the danger is supposedly to kids, thanks to the figure's inch-long ears of "pointed, rigid plastic."
"Toddlers may fall on these inflexible protrusions, with the potential for penetrating and blunt-force injuries," say the folks at W.A.T.C.H.
Holy frivolous lawsuit, Batman! A child could fall directly upon the ears of this toy and end up, er, penetrated by the Dark Knight? Wouldn't the action figure have to be standing straight up for that to happen? How likely is it to remain standing straight up if a kid bellyflopped onto it from, I don't know, a bunkbed? Isn't this scenario just a little far-fetched?
Here's another toy the list is warning us against: The Pucci Pups Maltese. What could be so dangerous about a fluffy stuffed animal -- aside from it inspiring your kids to start begging for a REAL pet? Oh, my friends, it is, of course, the leash! It's a choking hazard.
Sure, so is every single jump rope in existence. And every shoe lace. And every hair ribbon. But you can't be too careful! Moreover, the Pucci Pup poses another grave danger: its fur! If your child yanks this out and shoves it down her throat, the fur presents "an aspiration hazard."
So does real fur, for that matter. But we're supposed to be afraid of stuffed animals now.
When I spoke to the head of W.A.T.C.H., James Swartz (surprise: a lawyer!), I asked what else we parents should beware of. He warned against any battery operated toys for kids under age EIGHT. Not because fancy, look-at-me toys rot kids' brains and they should all be playing with rag dolls and finger puppets. No, said Swartz, it's because "batteries leak or explode."
Glad no one under eight is playing with a Tickle Me Elmo!
"These things are publicity stunts," says Chris Byrne, a.k.a. The Toy Guy, speaking about the W.A.T.C.H. list. "He's scaring
parents unnecessarily. He's a product injury lawyer."
The person Mr. Swartz may have scared the most is himself. His kids are 14 and 17 now and what presents has he gotten them over the years?
Some toys, he says, and some sporting equipment, but also: sweaters. "A lot of sweaters," he admitted. "They're not toys. But they're safer."
What do you think? Do dangerous toy lists go too far?
Related: Toys, 12 Tips for a Debt-Free Holiday
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-15-2009 @ 11:22AM
Jim said..."How likely is it to remain standing straight up if a kid bellyflopped onto it from, I don't know, a bunkbed? Isn't this scenario just a little far-fetched?"
What if the child help the figure in his closed fist and fell on it that way? It seems plausible. There were cases of kids accidentally stabbing their faces and eyes with Tinker Toys.
Still a bit over hyped. If only W.A.T.C.H. was around when I was 5 or 6 playing with the Pitch Fork at the barn!
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 2:21PM
my98xlclassic said...Time to cull the herd again !
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 4:15PM
Christie said...I thought about buying beads the other day (didn't, overpriced). They were the size of peas with a warning for use only by those 13 and above. 13!!! I couldn't figure out what they were worried my 8 year old would do with them.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 4:41PM
justanotherjen said...As far as I can tell that Batman toy isn't intended for toddlers and, I would think, an older child could handle playing with it safely. And, if by chance an accident occurred, then that is what it is...an accident. Life goes on, the kid gets a couple of stitches, chicks dig scars (as I tell my son).
The dog toy...I got my 7yo daughter 2 for her birthday (the were in a set at Costco). My 3yo plays with them, too, including the leashes. Maybe my kids are a lot smarter then most kids because they know better then to wrap it around their own necks and they don't eat fur.
I think all these warnings and recalls and such are just taking parents' common sense away. Why exercise your own common sense when someone else can tell you what is and isn't safe for your kids to play with or do?
Personally, I prefer to use my own common sense. I've been developing it since I was a child. That's why, when my youngest was 2 1/2, she got a bunch of Littlest Pet Shop toys despite the "choking hazard". She doesn't put stuff in her mouth, hasn't since she was 15/16 months old. That's also why I would have never bought those kind of toys for my 7yo when she was 2...because she put EVERYTHING in her mouth. Heck, I was still taking away choking hazards when she was 5 because it all ended up in her mouth. Common sense, people, use it before it atrophies.
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12-15-2009 @ 6:23PM
Elizabeth said...If it's true that this list is put out by lawyers, they're not doing themselves any favors. If parents have prior knowledge that a certain toy is dangerous and they buy it anyway, they're accepting the risk and no judge is going to award them a huge settlement.
Reply
12-15-2009 @ 8:37PM
Beth SG said...@justanotherjen - I hear ya about the mouth-putting. I fished a very wet piece of Littlest Pet Shop clothing (the pets wear clothes??) out of my 13-month-old's mouth today, at a friend's house.
But she didn't choke on it!
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12-16-2009 @ 8:47AM
LS said...Mr. Swartz buys sweaters for his kids??? Really? That's awfully brave of him. After all, a strand of that sweater can easily snag on the branches of the Christmas tree and unravel. At that point, there are two scenarios that could happen - either the child turns to see what is tugging, wraps himself up in that errant string, and hangs himself, or the child continues to tug, pulling that pointy-branched tree over on himself, impaling his little body with the branches. Oh, the horror!!!
And if those two exceedingly dangerous situations don't happen, the sweater itself continues to be a lurking danger. Those sweater collars are awfully close to a neck. It could choke a kid!
No, no, Mr. Swartz. Better to purchase air for your children. Of course, then you have dangerous particulates, and sharp corners on the box that you wrap it in.
Wow, to live in your world must be a horrific thing.
Reply
12-29-2009 @ 11:56PM
S.Savich said...I love this article! It's so stupid and funny! The kids these days must be really stupid if they're eating fake animal fur and somehow impaling themselves on an action figure. I mean, my brother and I were, like, 3 when we first played with Legos, and we didn't eat them! And I feel bad for the lawyer's kids who have to suffer getting a stupid sweater every Christmas. Like LS stated, if he's going as far as saying that kids 'choke' on suffed animal fur, then what what about the dangers of 'strangling' themselves on a sweater thread?
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