Dangerous Toys of the 2014 Holiday Season

Every year around this time, people make lists – and check them twice – and head off to toy stores (or on to their websites) in search of special gifts for the holiday season. Gift giving is a wonderful practice but, as our personal injury lawyers know all too well, there is an inherent risk in the tradition.

Fathers, mothers, grandparents and aunts and uncles all want to make the younger children in the family happy around the holidays, which is part of the reason for why children unmistakably receive toys around this time of the year. What would make a child not happy at this time, though, would be for a child to injure him or herself (or someone else) while using one of the toys they have received as a gift.

In this post, we’re going to explore some of the most dangerous toys of the 2014 holiday season, as reported by CBS News, each of which represents a different type of dangerous toy.

First on the list is the Zing Air Story Fire Tek Bow, which, as its name suggests, operates by shooting objects from the bow. A toy safety advocacy group called World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) points out that the toy’s safety instructions, which warn users against aiming the toy’s projectiles at people or animals, are ineffective when you consider the age of the people using the product; chances are the young children either won’t pay attention to the warning or they won’t be inclined to follow the instructions.

Second up on the list is the Toysmith Catapencil, which encourages children/students to use a pencil-turned-catapult for “target practice” from one’s desktop. This mixing of classroom studies with violence can’t be healthy, and the use of a sharp pencil as a play tool presents an ingredient for an injurious outcome.

Third, we have the Alphabet Zoo Rock & Stack Pull Toy. While you may be motivated to praise the toy manufacturer behind this product for encouraging learning, it’s important to note that this toy comes with a 20-inch string attached to it, far longer than the 12-inch standard. This elongated string poses a serious strangulation hazard to those who play with the toy.

Last, we have the Legends Orcs Battle Hammer, sold at toy giant Toys R Us. This toy, a fake hammer, encourages three-year-olds to immerse themselves into the role of the “Savage Orc” by thrashing around with a hard plastic hammer that is roughly two feet long. By encouraging violent behavior and providing children with the tools with which to indulge in such behavior, this toy manufacturer is putting children at risk of being seriously injured, either by others playing with the toy or by using the toy themselves.

Toy safety is a serious matter. Between 1990 and 2011 alone, over 3.25 million children were treated in American hospitals for toy-related injuries. With the exchange of gifts spiking around the holidays, it’s especially important around this time of the year to pay attention to what kinds of gifts you’re giving and to consider the potential consequences of their use.

If you have any questions about this or any other toy safety-related matter, please contact our personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg by calling 561-266-9191 or by emailing us at daronberg@build.simple.biz. We look forward to speaking with you.  

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