Trouble in toyland: Loopholes in regulations put children in danger, consumer group says

In an NPR interview, a woman who voted for Donald Trump said she was very happy that the country is going to get smaller government.

What she doesn’t realize is that in many aspects of consumer life, governments have had to struggle against corporations to get any kind of regulations at all even after children and adults die.

An example: Toy are now being shipped directly to consumers from overseas.

Online, you might see a brightly colored, wooden-peg-sorting toy for toddlers for only $4.04 with free shipping. You may not know the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued violation notices about many similar wooden toddler toys from overseas because they don’t comply with U.S. safety requirements.

You don’t know if the toy may contain lead or other toxics, whether small parts could break off and choke a child, or if it was tested.

“When you pull back the curtain, it’s terrifying,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for U.S. PIRG Education Fund and author of “Trouble in Toyland 2024: Unsafe Toys That Slip Through Border.” “We often assume that if something is for sale, it must be safe. But in so many cases, these toys are hazardous and they pose huge threats to our children.”

When you buy a toy or any other product online and the seller ships it directly to you from another country, it generally doesn’t get inspected before it gets to your home. And when sellers ship products in bulk but the claimed value is below a certain dollar threshold, called de minimis, the products frequently don’t get inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection or CBP because of a loophole.

Nearly 3 million shipments are made every single day that claim to be low value, Murray said, adding, that’s a sevenfold increase compared to 10 years ago.

An alarming number of toys entering this country aren’t safe.

The CPSC, in collaboration with the CBP, confiscated more than 1.1 million dangerous or illegal toys in fiscal year 2023, according to the CPSC.

Many more toys, clothes, and other products slip through, even though they don’t meet U.S. standards, she said. And if a hazard is discovered later, regulators are often powerless to stop the online sales or take the sellers to court to pursue recalls.

Murray said a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and CPSC commissioners is particularly concerned about Temu and Shein, both based in Asia.

For this year’s “Trouble in Toyland,” the U.S. PIRG Education Fund examines this growing problem, what regulators and lawmakers are trying to do about it, and what consumers can do to protect their families.

The report also examines:

• The Nov. 13 launch of Amazon Haul, the online giant’s new marketplace that ships direct from China. Analysts believe it will compete with Asia-based Temu and Shein.
• The persistent illegal sales of recalled toys. In an online “secret shopper” test, report researchers easily bought more recalled toys this fall.
• Efforts in Congress to restrict the sale of water beads as toys. Children eating water beads is connected to thousands of children’s emergency room visits, and at least one death. 

“While so many toys are made safer today than when PIRG started its “Trouble in Toyland’ reports four decades ago, new threats have emerged,” Murray said. “By examining the problems and offering tips to shoppers, we want to help people avoid toys that could endanger their children’s health and ruin their holidays.”

Here are toy safety tips from U.S. PIRG:

Tips to avoid unsafe/untested toys

• Understand that online purchases are nearly always more risky because there’s not as much transparency and returns can be more difficult or impossible.
• Consider purchases only from known, trusted sellers or the trademark holder. Companies you’ve never heard of warrant more research.
• Look at the brand’s website to find authorized retailers. If a seller isn’t on the list, the product may be a counterfeit.
• Read reviews about the seller and look for an address and a working U.S. phone number in case you need to contact the seller when shopping online. Also, does the website or listing have multiple typos or grammatical errors? That could be a red flag.
• Look for clues the item may be counterfeit if you have a toy or any other product in your hands. Does the label list country of origin? This is required for toys and many other items. Is the UPC valid? Numerous free phone apps allow you to scan the UPC or QR code and be directed to the manufacturer’s website, assuming the product is genuine.
  For a list of some highly rated apps and other tips, see our guide: Counterfeit products: How to tell whether you bought one.
• Look at the return policy. If it’s a new item and returns aren’t accepted, that could be cause for concern.
• Read reviews about the product itself. Look at the negative reviews first. Does it break easily? Is it poor quality?
• Figure out the shipping time. If it takes weeks, it could be coming from overseas and/or direct to you, potentially bypassing inspection at the border and documentation of safety testing.
• Don’t give the toy if you purchase and receive it and the toy has a weird smell or something else is odd. “If anything looks like it could be an issue, treat it like it’s an issue,” one CPSC commissioner advises.
• Check whether the toy has been recalled when your child gets a new toy, and periodically after that, by going to cpsc.gov/recalls. Check for incidents as well as recalls at  saferproducts.gov
• Carefully check toys, both when they’re new and every so often to see whether there’s wear and tear. You’re particularly looking for any parts that are loose or could easily break off and be swallowed or cut the child.
• Look for labeling on toys that says it’s non-toxic.
• Make sure that anything that’s electric says it’s UL-approved.
• Be wary of toys made before 2008, when the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act took effect, although vintage toys are great for the memories. Toys that comply with that law are safer in many ways. The law set new limits on lead, phthalates, and heavy metals, and requires third-party testing to make sure toys meet ASTM F963-17, which is the Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety that covers a range of potential hazards in toys.

Tips for avoiding injuries

• Evaluate whether particular toys are appropriate for your children, starting with the minimum age warning label. Even if your child is “old enough,” they may not be able to be trusted to play with the toy as intended. Age-grading isn’t about how intelligent a child is; it’s safety guidance based on the developmental skills and of children at a particular age.
• Consider whether a child is also responsible enough to keep the toy out of reach of any younger children.
• Require your child to wear safety gear – particularly helmets that fit properly – for scooters, hoverboards, and other riding toys. Also make sure they understand how to ride on streets shared by vehicles that can injure or kill them.
• Be sure to remove the film for any toys with plastic film coverings on toys to protect them during shipping. It’s often found on mirrors or parts that can be scratched before use. It can pose a choking hazard to children.
• Keep small balls, blocks and other toys with small parts out of reach from children younger than 3.
• Watch out for high-powered tiny magnets that are now prohibited from being manufactured. But the new federal rule doesn’t affect magnets that may be in people’s homes. If you have children or teens in your home, you shouldn’t have tiny magnets, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. Also explain to kids how dangerous these magnets are, in case they come across them at a friend’s house.
• Keep water beads out of your home. Certain types of water beads haven’t yet been banned, but they’re dangerous for young children. 
• Keep deflated balloons away from children younger than 8 and keep your ears open for an inflated balloon that pops. Children can choke on balloons that haven’t been blown up and ones that have broken.
• For children younger than 18 months, keep them away from toys with any strings, straps or cords longer than 12  inches.
• Make sure battery compartments, especially button batteries, are secure and can’t be opened by a young child. In addition, make sure to never leave new or used batteries where children can reach them. 
• Watch out for painted jewelry, cheap metal or other toys with paint that seems to chip off easily. We know young children often put things in their mouths. The objects could contain lead, which is particularly harmful to children’s developing brains and nervous systems.

Tips for smart toys

• Understand all of the toy’s features.
  
  Features to consider carefully:
  Cameras, microphones or sensors
  Chat functions
  Location sharing
  In-app purchases
  Level of individual personalization the toy is programmed to accomplish
  
  Features that can be helpful:
  Parental safety controls
  Ability to set time limits

• Look for toys with a physical component to connect it to the internet: This can be as simple as having a button on the toy you must press in order to link it to other devices. Making sure someone must physically interact with the toy helps cut down on the risks of strangers abusing its internet connection. Some toys will require you to enter a password in an app to connect with the toy. This is a good, but physical requirements are best.
• Read the terms and conditions. Disclosures, and terms and conditions aren’t fun or easy to read, but when it comes to toys, it’s important for parents to read enough to try and find answers to key questions. These include: 

1. If the toy has a microphone or a camera, is it recording your child’s interactions with it? Are those communications transferred anywhere? To whom, and for what purpose?
2. Is the toy collecting any other information about your child, or transferring it to any company that isn’t the manufacturer? Best to find manufacturers and toys that don’t share any data at all.
3. How long does the company keep your child’s data on file? The company should keep data only for as long as is required to fulfill its play function. If the policy doesn’t explicitly state how long the company keeps data, this can be a red flag.
4. Does the company state it is allowed to change terms and conditions without notifying you? This can be a red flag, too.
   Unfortunately, it’s possible you won’t find the answers to all of these questions in the terms and conditions or privacy policies. These documents can be purposefully vague and omit important information. If this is the case, it’s safer to find a different toy made by a company that takes the security of children more seriously. 

• Supervise playtime, especially with younger kids. This helps to ensure that if someone hacks the toy and is using it to interact with your child, you can take action immediately.
• Turn it off when not in use. For younger children, store it in a place your child can’t reach when playtime is over to ensure they can’t turn it on without supervision, re-enabling the toy to pose unmonitored risks.
• Stay on top of security updates. Many web-enabled toys and their companion apps will issue periodic updates. These are important to keep your family safe.