December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month, and it’s the perfect time of year to practice mindful toy selection and gifting. Especially when shopping for the little ones in your life, be mindful of where you’re purchasing toys from and select age-appropriate gifts.
In this post, we discuss new data on toy safety, common toy safety hazards, and other tips for selecting safe toys for children.
Here are some of the top toy safety takeaways you should know:
- Be very careful when online shopping for toys. New data reveals higher lead content in toys that enter the U.S. from other countries.
- Avoid gifting toy scooters, whether motorized or non-motorized, as these are involved in many toy-related injuries.
- Do not buy gifts containing small pieces for children under 5 years of age.
Keep reading to learn more about toy safety and safe gift-giving practices.
Why is Toy Safety Important?
Being aware of toy safety and mindfully picking out safe toys for children is important because not all toys are inherently safe for kids. Some toys may only be safe for children of a certain age, so it’s important to read the age rating and warning labels on toy boxes before giving your gift. Additionally, some toys may seem safe, but might not meet U.S. safety standards if you purchase them from another country.
3 Common Toy Safety Hazards to Be Aware Of
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released its 2024 Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries Report. In it, the CPSC noted some common toy safety hazards to be aware of:
1. Lead Toxicity
The CPSC encouraged shoppers to be especially mindful when ordering toys and gifts for children online, and even more so when those toys are ordered from sellers outside the U.S.
According to the report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized more than 1.6 million toys in 2024 alone, and 101,900 of those toys were seized due to containing excessive levels of lead, which is toxic to humans, and especially to small children.
According to a press release from the CPSC:
“While the internet has made holiday shopping more convenient, it has also created a more complex marketplace where dangerous products, including toys, can easily slip through the cracks. Online platforms can connect buyers directly with sellers, making it harder for regulators to track and prevent unsafe products from reaching consumers.”
2. Toy Scooter Injuries
According to the CPSC data, non-motorized scooters accounted for the largest share of toy-related injuries in 2023, leading to approximately 53,000 injuries across all age groups. In children under 15 years of age, more than 1 in every 5 toy-related injuries involved a scooter. Overall, lacerations were the most common kind of toy-related injury for all ages.
3. Toy Ingestion Injuries
Furthermore, the CPSC found that ingestion and internal injuries were some of the most common kind of toy-realted injuries in children under 5. These injuries include choking on small toy pieces, including balls and crayons; getting a toy trapped inside the child’s chest after swallowing; and ingesting water beads.
Especially when buying a gift for a young child, make sure no part of the toy contains small pieces that the child could potentially swallow.
Toy Safety Tips to Follow
As you finish your holiday shopping this year, please keep the following toy safety tips in mind when buying gifts for the children in your life:
- Be wary of cheap or highly marked-down toy prices. If a seller is offering a toy for a fraction of the price of other retailers, it could be an indication of a low-quality product, which could be dangerous for a child.
- Check for product recalls on the toy before buying it. You can search for recall on the CPSC website.
- Review and follow the age ratings on toy packaging.
- Keep toys with small parts away from children under 5 years old.
- Look up reviews of toys before you buy them. Focus on reviews from third-party websites and trusted organizations like the BBB.
- When possible, have toys shipped to you first so you can inspect the toy is safe before giving it to the child.
- Immediately discard ribbon, plastic, etc. used to wrap gifts as soon as the gifts are opened.
Is a Toy Injury a Product Liability Lawsuit?
If a child is injured by a toy marketed for their age range and otherwise believed to be safe, there could be a case for a product liability claim.
Contact The Champion Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.C. today for a free case consultation. Our empathetic and experienced attorneys can determine if you have a product liability claim. We operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay us anything unless we win your case.
Submit your consultation request today, or read our hundreds of five-star reviews on Google to learn more about why clients love working with us.
From all of us at The Champion Firm, we wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season.