If you did your holiday shopping early, it’s possible that you may have unwittingly purchased a recalled item for your child.
Recalled toys and garments can put your child at risk of being seriously injured. While you may not have intended to purchase an unsafe toy for your child, recalls happen all the time.
To help ensure the children on your holiday shopping list aren’t put in harm’s way while using a gift you purchased, it’s important to make sure you didn’t accidentally bring home a recalled item. Here are a few recent children’s product recalls consumers should be aware of.
Recently recalled children’s items
Plantoys baby gyms. These baby gyms were sold from September 2016 through May 2017 at specialty toy and baby product stores nationwide, as well as online retailers including Diapers.com and Target.com. However, 500 were recalled because babies can strangle on the baby gym's side rope crossbars.
Select brands of wind-up musical toy. Back in October, 587,000 wind-up musical plush toys from Carter’s, Child of Mine, Guess How Much I Love You, and Just One You were recalled. The metal post and/or handle of the wind-up mechanism can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.
Toys “R” Us infant wiggle balls. Following six reports of the ball’s rubber knobs breaking off and four reports of pieces of the product found in children's mouths, Toys “R” Us recalled its infant wiggle balls. The recall also applied to Bruin Infant Wiggle Ball toys, also called a giggle ball.
Little Mass children’s sleepwear. Although no incidents or injuries were reported, Little Mass recalled 2,300 children’s nightgowns and two-piece pajama sets (which were sold at Nordstrom and children’s boutiques nationwide) due to the fact that the garments fail to meet flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries.
OshKosh baby B’gosh quilted jackets. Back in November, 43,000 Baby B’gosh quilted jackets sold in the U.S. and Canada were recalled after the company received several reports of a snap detaching, including one report of a child putting a detached snap in her mouth. Due to the choking hazard, OshKosh recalled the products (in pink and gray).
Purchasing safe toys
Toy safety experts say vigilance is critical when buying toys for kids, even if the item hasn’t been recalled.
“Consumers need to be vigilant when buying toys and know what hazards to look out for,” Joan Siff, president of World Against Toys Causing Harm (or W.A.T.C.H.) told ConsumerAffairs.
To do so, she recommends becoming familiar with the categories of hazards that reappear year after year.
“Some of the recurring classic hazards we see include small detachable parts that can be easily removed on toys sold to young children, toys with warnings that may be impossible to follow in the real world and don't take into account how children play, and projectile or airborne toys that could lead to eye injuries,” she said.
Additionally, consumers should recognize that a toy’s safety isn’t guaranteed just because it’s popular or manufactured by a well-known company. The “10 Worst Toys” list recently released by W.A.T.C.H. is “by no means an exhaustive list of what to watch out for,” said Siff.
However, it’s “illustrative of the types of potential hazards parents and other toy shoppers may encounter this holiday season and year round,” she said, adding that it's always a good idea to inspect a toy and its packaging before giving it to a child.