More Trouble in Toyland: Fakes, toxins and choking threats abound ...Middle East

Last of two parts. See Part 1 here.

We’ve likely creeped you out about the new crop of A.I.-powered, little kid toys — some of which were prompted to chat about kinky sex, whether God exists, where to find knives and how to light matches. But that’s just the newest frontier in the “Trouble in Toyland” universe.

The old frontier, and its dangers for kids, remain.

Parents, grandparents and gift-givers in general would be wise to heed the advice in the 40th annual “Trouble in Toyland” study by the U.S. and California Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Consumer Watchdog.

It’s not all doom and gloom.

“We’re thankful that toys overall are much safer than they were in decades past,” the researchers said. “But problems such as choking hazards and lead in toys still exist….”

The remaining decidedly non-A.I. threats — shall we call them analog? — include:

— Counterfeit toys that “almost surely weren’t tested for safety, including fake Labubu dolls (which have been confiscated by the thousands this year.)” 

— Toys containing toxics such as lead and phthalates, which can be “incredibly harmful to children.”

— Water beads, which can be as small as grains of rice and (when wet) can swell to 100 times their original size, have injured thousands of kids over the years.

— Toys recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that can be easily bought online, even though it’s illegal to sell them.

— Toys with button cell batteries and high-powered magnets, which can be deadly if swallowed.

“The toyland we live in now is much more complex,” the report said.

Some 3 billion toys and games are sold in the United States every year, and there are at least 150,000 toy-related, emergency-room injuries and deaths among kids age 14 and younger, the researchers found. That’s not a full picture of harm, though; it doesn’t include kids who were  treated in doctors’ offices or who were hurt but didn’t seek medical attention.

“Some of these incidents are caused by misuse, but dangerous toys lead to way too many injuries among children, especially those most vulnerable, age 4 and younger, who can’t read any warnings,” the report said.

“Perhaps most concerning: Even though most experts believe most toys overall are safer today, we don’t see that in the numbers. While toy-related injuries treated in emergency rooms dipped in 2020 and 2021, there’s wide belief the decline in ER visits was in part due to a desire among many to stay out of hospitals if possible during the height of COVID.

“In any case, those numbers of injuries treated in ERs started climbing again after 2021.”

Buying what shouldn’t be for sale

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 30 toys in the first 10 months of 2025.

The independent federal agency isn’t quick to issue a recall. But when it does it’s often because the toys present a choking hazard (pieces can come off and little kids can swallow them), or because they contain high-powered magnets that can be swallowed (pulling together inside the digestive system and causing perforations, twisting, blockage or worse), and/or it’s because they have easy-to-access button or coin batteries (which can be swallowed to “immediate, devastating and deadly” effect, which is why every button or coin battery compartment must have screw closures that require a screwdriver, coin or tool to open).

“Stopping families from being able to buy toys that have already been recalled is one of the easiest ways to protect children from injury or death,” the report said. Researchers started shopping for a few of the recalled toys, and “it took us less than a half-hour to find and buy one of each.”

One was Cra-Z-Art Gemex/Gel2Gem Jewelry Kits by LaRose Industries of New Jersey. Some 224,100 kits were recalled in March because they contained a resin that could cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation when inhaled, touched or ingested. The resin had a chemical called hydroxyethyl methacrylate at levels higher than allowed in children’s products under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Despite that, researchers ordered it through Ebay on Aug. 22 and received it on Aug. 27.

Another was PlayTab Rollers Tile Toys by Fat Brain Toy Co. of Nebraska. More than 5,000 were recalled in May because they contained magnets that could become loose and be swallowed. Researchers ordered it through The Kangaroo Pouch on Aug. 22,and received it on Aug. 28.

Then there were Magnetic Floating Stackers toys by Tegu Holdings of Naples, Fla. Some 23,000 were recalled in July, also for containing magnets that could loosen and be swallowed. Researchers ordered it through The Classmate LTD. on Aug. 22.

“This is not a newly discovered problem,” the report said. “The (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and Congress are well aware of the difficulty enforcing this, particularly among online sellers.”

Officials from the federal agency said they remain “deeply concerned” that recalled and banned products continue to be illegally sold online. They also told researchers that they are using “all available tools, including enforcement actions, civil penalties and partnerships with other federal agencies, to hold online sellers accountable.”

Smart shoppers will check www.cpsc.gov/Recalls, and the Trouble in Toyland report, before buying.

Beware the cheap stuff

Toys sold in the United States must meet more than 100 tests and safety standards.

All testing must be conducted and certified by a third party.

Products are examined for sharp and/or pointy edges, the integrity of their battery packs, the presence of choking, fire and/or strangulation hazards, toxic chemicals, sounds so loud they might damage hearing.

Cheap toys entering the country from abroad in small shipments known as “de minimis” — low-value (or supposedly low-value) items, too inconsequential to attract much federal attention — are unlikely to have endured such scrutiny. These products are also sent directly to shoppers’ homes by companies like Temu and Shein; the two accounted for about one-third of all de minimis shipments in 2023, officials said.

“That is not de minimis business. It is big money,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., in Congress last year.

Over the last decade, the number of de minimis international shipments claiming to be exempt from inspection surged from 140 million a year to 1 billion a year, the researchers found.

“The idea of toxics in toys isn’t hypothetical,” the report said. “Every year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, with help from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, flags dozens and dozens of shipments of toys for various violations for toxics such as lead or phthalates or violations of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. These shipments may contain hundreds of thousands of toys.”

The CPSC issued 498 notices of violations for toy shipments through the first half of this year, nearly 9 out of 10 were coming from China.

Of those violations, 65 shipments had higher levels of lead than allowed in a children’s product; 48 had higher levels of phthalates; 11 had higher levels of lead in paint; and 5 had labeling violations connected to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the report said.

“These are the dangerous toys that get caught,” it said.

“An unknown number don’t.”

Counterfeit products abound

Beware the Hello Kitty with the slightly misshapen head.

“Counterfeit toys pose a threat on multiple levels,” the report said. “First, if bad actors are willing to manufacture a product that violates a company’s intellectual property or trademark, it’s reasonable to think the product also may not have been manufactured well or tested for safety.”

Many counterfeit products are made with substandard materials or components and can be hazardous, but shoppers buy them anyway, ignoring suspicions, because they’re cheaper or they’re a “hot item” that’s hard to find in regular stores.

These fakes are often manufactured under “unsanitary labor exploitation conditions,” contain toxins, and can be borne of forced labor, human trafficking or other criminal activities, the researchers said. They hurt jobs in the United States and give bad actors an unfair advantage because they don’t pay taxes.

“Counterfeit and imitation toys can endanger the health and safety of children. Parents should buy from trusted sources and be wary of deals that seem too good to be true,” CPSC Chairman Peter Feldman told the researchers.

Tips for shoppers:

— Be mindful who you’re buying from. A brick and mortar store? A well known e-commerce site? An unfamiliar online marketplace? “Buying toys from reputable brands and retailers provides more assurance the toys meet U.S. safety standards,” the researchers said.

— Check whether the product has been recalled and has a good reputation by checking genuine reviews.

— Beware signs an item might be counterfeit. Dearth of information about the product or incomplete labeling? Is the merchant an authorized seller of that product? You should be able to find this information on the brand’s website, the researchers said.

— Pay attention to shipping timeframes. If you think you’re buying from a U.S. company and shipping will take two or three weeks, it could actually be coming from overseas. If that’s being hidden, it could be a red flag.

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