The holiday season is near and that means stocking up on gifts. For those with little ones in their lives, shopping for gifts can be tedious so it's always a treat to have a list to follow to narrow down options. World Against Toys Causing Harm, aptly nicknamed W.A.T.C.H., takes a different approach, releasing a list of the worst toys available to show what NOT to give this holiday.
The 10 Worst Toys list is released every year by W.A.T.C.H. This year, the toys on the list are for various age groups and include all types of toys. For 2014, one topic that the consumer group focused on is toys that are designed and marketed with more regard for sales than safety. Inconsistent instructions and warnings can be misleading to parents, who may then buy toys that pose hidden hazards to kids.
"The numerous recalls in the past year, as well as the recurrence of many known hazards in toys, are clearly suggestive of a broken system that needs fixing before more children are harmed. Shockingly, many of the same hazards with the potential to seriously harm or kill children listed over the last four decades can still be found in newly designed toys," said W.A.T.C.H.
The consumer group adds that since its last conference, where it released the 10 Worst Toys list for 2013, there have been at least 17 recalls translating to nearly five million dangerous toys in the U.S. and Canada.
Toy hazards that have been proven to be deadly top the 2014 worst toys list, including classic dangers such as small parts, projectiles, rigid materials, toxic substances, and inaccurate labels and warnings.
At the top of the list is the Air Storm Firetek Bow. Made for children eight years old and up, the toy shoots arrows up to 145 feet away. The arrows glow in the dark and are labeled for nighttime or daytime use, but the package warns against playing in complete darkness. Another confusing warning is that the arrows are not to be pulled back beyond half strength.
Others on the list include the Radio Flyer Ziggler (potential forehead and other impact injuries); Catapencil (a catapult built into a pencil; potential for eye injuries); Alphabet Zoo Rock & Stack Pull Toy (potential for strangulation and entanglement injuries); Swat Electric Machine Gun (realistic toy weaponry); Wooden Instruments (potential for ingestion and choking injuries); Bottle Rocket Party (potential for eye, face, and other impact injuries); LIL' Cutesies! Best Friends Doll (potential for choking injuries); True Legends Orcs Battle Hammer (potential for blunt impact injuries); and the Colored Hedgehog (potential for ingestion/asphyxiation injuries).
