There are some toys that turn out to be so dangerous that it can make a kid question whether or not it would have been better if Santa had left coal instead.
If any of these toys turned up under your house’s tree this year, there’s a good chance that someone got injured — because they’ve been identified as some of 2017’s most dangerous toys:
- Fidget spinners, which started out as cheap knockoffs of a “Fidget Cube” that was designed to be a subtle pocket toy for nervous thinkers. Some are made haphazardly and with parts that can literally slice fingertips up.
- Razor Jetts, which have wheels that are designed to strap onto a child’s tennis shoes (at the heel) and produce actual sparks. It’s almost hard to believe someone didn’t realize these could present a significant risk of injury, if not from falls but from burns.
- The Pull-Along Pony seems harmless enough, except that it has a cord that is more than long enough for a crawling toddler to wrap around his or her throat.
- The Nerf Dreadbolt Zombie Strike gun manages to fire those foam darts hard enough to inspire a scene from “A Christmas Story.” They might not take out a zombie, but they can damage unprotected eyes and cause other injuries.
These are just some of the top toys on the list, which is provided by a consumer watch agency every year. The toy industry claims that the watch agency is overprotective and reaching.
It’s important for parents to realize that many toys that have been recalled for safety concerns are still out there on the market. Sellers don’t pay close attention to recall alerts and let items go out the door instead of pulling them off the shelves and off their websites.
That’s why it’s important to check with an attorney if your child gets seriously injured by a toy to see if you have any legal rights to compensation. Under product liability laws, manufacturers, distributors and sellers can all be held responsible for letting an unsafe product injure consumers.
Source: Time, “Warning: These Are the 10 Most Dangerous Toys of 2017,” Dec. 25, 2017