NYPIRG Lists 19 Treacherous Toys For 2012 Holiday Season
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - With Christmas just around the corner, the New York Public Interest Research Group is out with a report intended to keep children safe this holiday season.
EXTRA: Click Here For The Full Report (pdf)
The report is called "Treacherous Toys: Dangerous and Toxic Toys on New York Store Shelves."
NYPIRG says the 19 toys potentially present dangers to kids ranging from entanglement and strangulation to choking hazards to dangerous levels of chemicals and noise.
WCBS 880's Rich Lamb On The Story
Podcast
Program Coordinator Megan Ahearn said among the items is a pair of olive-colored boxing gloves called "The Avengers Hulk Smash Fists."
"It's a toy that encourages very young children as young as 3 to smash everything in sight. It can be a danger if a child is unsupervised for even a minute or is playing rough," she said. "In a 3-year-old, these are very large gloves that pack a punch."
1010 WINS' Stan Brooks On The Story
Podcast
Another toy is called "Funkeys Car Keys" and a button makes it sound like a child is starting a car.
Ahearn claims the toy can cause gradual hearing problems.
"One in five children will have hearing loss and symptoms of potentially permanent hearing loss by the age of 12," she said.
Joan Lawrence, Vice President of Standards for the Toy Industry Association, says consumers should know toys on U.S. store shelves are safe.
"We have tough standards here in this country and products have to be tested for compliance before they go into a store," she said.
She added that parents that should check the age range of toys they buy and, of course, supervise their children in the use of those toys.
