Top 10 Worst Toys

Email this| Posted Dec 1st 2008 8:03AM by Jonathon Morgan

Filed under: Family Time, Gifts + Shopping

Every year, as children make their Christmas requests and parents set out to do their seasonal shopping, World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) is also getting in the spirit -- but not quite how you'd expect. They create a list of their Top 10 Worst Toys -- playthings they believe pose a threat to the health (or, in worst cases, the life) of your child. Here are this year's picks.

1. Animal Alley Purse Pet

Though the toy is listed for 0+, WATCH notes that "toy has long, fiber-like hair that is not adequately rooted and is easily removable, presenting the potential for ingestion or aspiration injuries." What's worse is that there's no warning on the packaging, so unsuspecting parents could be caught off guard by this potential hazard.

CollectorsConnect.com

2. Ninja Battle Gear - Michelangelo

While it's probably obvious than anything called "Battle Gear" presents some potential safety problems -- the makers of Michaelangelo's "Nunchaku" didn't think to warn anyone about the hazards of hammering away on your friends with hard pieces of plastic.

DinosaurDeals.com.au

3. Walkin' Sounds - Digger the Dog

Even though this toy is marketed to infants, the long string (which exceeds industry standards) presents -- at best -- an opportunity for entanglement, and at worst it could be a serious choking hazard.

Amazon.com

4. Pucci Puppies - Golden Retriever Cottage

Sure, the dog and its little house are absolutely adorable -- but the pet's playthings (a bone, bowl, and food) may choke your toddler when he or she decides to find out what they taste like.

Target.com

5. Meadow Mystery Play-a-Sound Book

The plush Pooh bear is cute and cuddly, but in the accompanying book, Meadow Mystery, Pooh wears a removable mask that -- if ingested by infants -- poses a choking hazard.

ToySafety.org

6. Inflatable Giga Ball

This toy actually sounds like a blast -- just make sure there's grown-ups around to keep an eye. The manufacturer says adult supervision is "recommended," which -- if you imagine your four-year-old tumbling around inside, rolling down the hill and into the street -- seems like it should certainly be "required."

eToys.com

7. Spiderman Skates and Safety Gear

Anyone who's put their child on roller skates knows that this is a bloody nose waiting to happen. So, as you might expect, the manufacturer has gone to great lengths warning parents that "helmet, knee pads and elbow pads" should be used "at all times." Only problem is the package doesn't come with a helmet -- so make sure to add that to your shopping list if your little Spidey fan is getting skates for Christmas.

Amazon.com

8. Sportsman Shotgun

This "toy" is "not recommended" for children under three. If you want teach your child to shoot, that's one thing -- but letting them run around unsupervised with a firearm (even one that shoots rubber bullets), is asking for trouble.

Amazon.com

9. Extreme Spiral Copters

This is a essentially a slingshot, which -- even assuming your child doesn't decide to use it to launch rocks (or whatever else) -- still sends a spinning plastic projectile hurtling into the air. It'd hurt no matter where it smacked you, but if the Spiral Copter hits an eye, it's a one-way ticket to the ER.

Toys2Wish4.com

Nancy 11-30-2008 @ 6:30AM

Why would you want to put a little kid in a ball that rolls like that? Who can hear their screams of "I want to get out!!??

Drew 11-30-2008 @ 11:23AM

This is reallyto everyone. I am 15 and have four younger sisters. I looked through these toys and immediatley thought of little pieces of plastic and cloth and small balls and projectiles that we have at home. I think its totally ridiculous the amount of time and packaging used on 'Warning' signs everywhere. Its as if playing with anything will kill you, give you cancer or destroy part of your body. I think that these ADULTS should grow up and understand that you are supposed to live a little bit, pain or not. I hate looking at my bike and seeing 'Warning, use common sense, ride during daytime and always with a helmet' because my parents taught me that before i ever read that sign and putting it there just makes it more fun to not obey the warning. Anyway, its up to the parents what to get their kids. One sister is three (a toddler) but doesn't eat plastic. I have a 4 month old sister and she only drinks milk, not plstic. My mom will tel us if the baby cant have a certain toy, not the packaging.

Nancy 12-01-2008 @ 6:33AM

I've read through the comments and yes, kids do need to get hurt now and then when they play - from the looks of my kids, and how they speak, scars are still the signs of a good time. But if you look at the ball those kids can't be any older than 4 years old. Sure for an older kid/adult it could be a blast because they can give educated consent but a 4 year old can't (as well as realizing that putting their baby sister in the ball is not a good idea).

Nathanael 12-01-2008 @ 9:36AM

We actually have a ball like that and there are two exits that the picture doesn't show. It is great fun, but if it pops while the child is in it it is obviously a big problem.

mike 11-30-2008 @ 6:46AM

My God when I was a kid we didn't even have seat belts in cars and we rode around standing up. Alarmists, and wimps that is what we have turned into, and a sue happy lot we are as well.

barb 11-30-2008 @ 7:57AM

When I was a kid we used to sit in old tires and roll down hills. Horror of horrors, I was shot with a BB gun, it hurt but I certainly didn't die from it. When we moved to a new place, we didn't sit inside and whine we had no friends, we went out and found them. We lefy home after breakfast and didn't come back until the street lights were on. We played baseball in empty lots and even in the streets. Kids today are wimps. Another horror my kids have a trampoline in the back yard, and yes they have bounced off of it! They did not whine and c ry but got right back on. These "watchdog" groups need to get a life and find better things to do with their time.

KayzblueGenes@aol.com 11-30-2008 @ 8:21AM

When I was a kid (about 10 yrs old), we were playing "go-go-go" in a friend's expansive back yard. While running down the slope, I stepped on a roofing nail, which went all the way through my foot. I pulled it out and kept playing! It wasn't much fun later at the ER, while the doctor was rooting around in there removing rust fragments; but I was fine, my parents didn't sue anyone, and life went on. The point is... children do get hurt... no matter what they do. It's part of life... we have to let them live it.

Mart 11-30-2008 @ 10:07PM

Todays kids are not wimps by choice.They are being raised by parents in fear for their child's life.Perhaps you played from dawn to dusk, and only went home for lunch, and dinner.Maybe you grew up , as I did playing all day with friends in the park.WE used to put a kid in the huge oil drum sized garbage can at the park and take turns rolling it until they screamed.Then we'd fight over who gets to go next.But today, who could trust to let their child play unattended by an adult anywhere? Our society is held hostage by the stories of pedophiles and rapists ,child abuctors and serial killers.I can't send my child to his school playground to play unless I am with him, a convicted pedophile lives across the street. Not to mention young gang members hanging around looking for trouble and worse.Don't blame the kid, blame the mess we've created to deny them a proper childhood.

mike 12-01-2008 @ 10:43AM

I agree 100% that these groups need to get a life and kids need to learn the way we did a little rough and a little tough

Michael 12-01-2008 @ 11:53AM

Barb A BIG AMEN to you! These crazy "Fun Police" have almost ruined life for people who want to get outside and have a little recreation and pleasure. We have to have warnings on everything that might lead to exercise, fun, a good laugh, and keeping us in shape! These nuts restrict our access to public land, seek to control every bit of our lives and then whine about how fat our society is getting. Too bad we can't declare " Fun Police " season and hunt them down and rid our lives of the menace that they pose to all of us!

KayzblueGenes@aol.com 11-30-2008 @ 8:20AM

After the toy thing is "healthy" stocking stuffers. People... do not put a toothbrush or a pedometer in your child's Christmas stocking... PLEASE!!! Or, if you are tempted to gift a toothbrush, make it a cool Spiderman or Disney princess electric one (not the boring version pictured). My God!!! I know children spend too much time playing video games, need exercise, eat junk food... blah, blah, blah. But do we have to go overboard, to the ridiculous extreme, on everything? Sheeeeesh; let the kid have one day of pure enjoyment!

yeah... these are real 'shocking'... ho hum

kelly 11-30-2008 @ 8:55AM

For heavens sake! These people could find something wrong with every toy made. As for the little dog, CUT the STRING! Freak accidents happen, but life has to go on. I have been an over protective parent and my child (8) is now paying the price. She is intimidated by a lot of things and I am having to help her get over this. Parents, know where your children are, what they are doing and who they are with, but let them be kids.

Simzee 11-30-2008 @ 9:13AM

It sounds like some parents NEED to watch the children a little better than they do. You can not blame everything on the toy or kid.

Erin 11-30-2008 @ 9:59AM

Wow...a lot of this stuff is just common sense. There's nothing wrong with any of these toys if kids are adequately supervised. My daughter got the skate set (hers were Disney Princess) for her 2ND birthday! I knew she was going to be getting them, so I went out and bought her the matching helmet! She knows she has to wear all her safety gear before she can skate, and she skates either on our hardwood floors or with me right there with her on our driveway

LeeAnn 11-30-2008 @ 10:03AM

This is a lawsuit nation. People look for any kind of way to get money, even from "dangerous" toys.

Kelly 11-30-2008 @ 10:41AM

to Kayzbluegenes - I just wanted to mention that we have gotten a toothbrush every year for Christmas and Easter (plus a few other times throughout the year, ofcourse!). It became something we kinda looked forward to. We knew we'd get a toothbrush and blue jeans every year. I've started that tradition with my daughter and she loves her little fun color, twisted handle kid toothbrush. I don't think it needs to be the electronic kind... kids don't need those anyway! :)
I understand your feelings... but, if you grow up with it, it's completely natural and you actually miss those traditions when you have your own family... and probably continue them like I have!

old guy 11-30-2008 @ 10:42AM

Who are the blithering idiots that wrote this piece? They should get a life and stop taking the fun out of childrens lives. I had a BB gun when I was 5, a shotgun at 12 and a deer rifle at 16 and now I'm 70 and still havent hurt myself with any of these things. How did that happen? How can these people get out of bed in the morning knowing that the wotrld is so full of their imaginary "dangers" lurking around every corner waiting to strike at them.

Lisa 11-30-2008 @ 11:02AM

Okay, first off parents know not to buy young kids things that can fit in their mouth. That's just common sense. But come on! A one way ticket to the ER! A bloody nose! Kids today are wimps, and only because their parents have grown too over protective and ready to sue any one for the smallest injuries. Sure, I don't want to be taking my kids to the ER every weekend, but that doesn't mean that you limit yourself to only buying them stuffed animals and stuffing their stockings with toothbrushes. Matter of fact, kids will get hurt, it's part of growing up. Now I've never heard of some one who died from getting hit by a small plastic piece by a six year old.