New York Children's Product Safety and Recall Effectiveness Act of 2008

Earlier this month, New York Governor, David Patterson, signed into law the Children’s Product Safety and Recall Effectiveness Act of 2008. This law prevents recalled and defective toys and juvenile products from sitting on store shelves and will keep potentially dangerous products out of children’s hands. With all the CPSC recalls being voluntary, the stores are not required to stop selling the product. While the larger name store (Toys”R”Us , Target, Wal-Mart, etc) stop selling the products recalled by the CPSC, smaller, independent stores do not necessarily, possibly due to not hearing about the recall. Last summer, while shopping at a beach side souvenir store, I spotted Curious George Tin Pails that had been previously recalled sitting on the shelves to be sold.

We Have Crossed the Million Mark for Remote Controlled Helicopter Toys Recalled in 2008

Today the CPSC added another 78,000 Remote Controlled Helicopters to the 2008 toy recall list making the total remote controlled helicopters recalled for 2008 over 1 MILLION!

Today the Protocol Remote Controlled Mini Helicopter made in China was recalled due to reports of the rechargeable battery overheating and causing the helicopter to melt. The reports included one consumer whose fingertip was burned in the overheating.

These helicopters were sold in retail stores nationwide from October to December 2007.

I don't know about you but my son will NOT be receiving a remote controlled helicopter for Christmas!

HABA Recalls 22 Wooden Infant Toys Due to Choking Hazard

The CPSC recalled 118,000 wooden toys made by HABA today. The wooden rattles, pacifier holders, and stroller toys contain small pieces including glued on mirrors and prisms that can detach and pose a choking hazard to infants. HABA has received 15 reports of the recalled puzzles, rattles, and pacifier holders detaching and being mouthed by young children. These wooden toys were made in Germany and sold from January 2002 to August 2008.

While the CPSC listed19 of the HABA toys recalled, the HABA site listed 22 toys recalled. The CPSC list included the following:

0972 Lucy Clutching Toy
0973 Little Heart Clutching Toy
0920 Clutching Toy Belinda
2268 Triolino Puzzle
0951 Miro
1037 Bunny Pacifier Chain
1048 Pacifier Chain Bear
0917 Speedy Clutching Toy
0971 Bella Clutching Toy
0919 Clutching Toy Pixie's World
0924 Clutching Toy Pirate
0974 Bonita Clutching Toy
0975 Rally Clutching Toy
1062 Pram Decoration Little Hearts
1066 Flori
1067 Triola
1184 Trio
3572 Discovery Ball W/rattle
3571 Discovery Balls, Set Of 4

The HABA site (www.HABAusa.com/safety) included these additional toys:

3708 Construction Site Stroller Chain
3739 Stellino Clutching Toy 3744 Tamtam Clutching Toy

Update on Remote Controlled Helicopter Recalls

Today the CPSC added another remote controlled helicopter recall to the list for 2008. The Hobbico Heli-Max Axe CP-L rechargeable battery has reportedly overheated and or melted 28 times. Flames and minor property damage occurred during 27 of the reported times. These helicopter kits (which include the battery) were made in China and sold at hobby stores from November 2007 to March of 2008 for $200.

Remote Controlled Helicopter Kills 6 Year Old in Brazil

In an article reported by the associated press, a remote controlled helicopter spun out of control yesterday in Brazil and killed a 6 year old boy. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080818/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/brazil_model_helicopter

As reported in our blog post on July 25, close to one million remote controlled helicopters have been recalled by the CPSC in the US so far this year. The models recalled include the following:

Sky Scrambler
Sharper Image Helicopter
Sky Champion (sold at Walgreens)
AT600 Falcon by Hobby Lobby
and Fun2Fly Microcopter

Fisher Price Returns to the Toy Recall Front

It has been nine months since Fisher Price was included in a toy recall. Today the CPSC recalled 15,000 of the Fisher Price Learning Pots and Pans due to a choking hazard. These toy pots and pans were recalled because the blue pan may be missing screws that hold the toy together. Fisher Price has received five reports of the plastic cover coming off of the toy releasing the small balls inside. The toy recall affects the Learning Pots and Pans manufactured in China and sold by Fisher Price from October 2007 to August 2008.

Toy Recall Affects Even the "Natural" Toy Companies

Today Earthentree of Kirkland, Washington recalled 13 different wooden toys due to choking hazard, strangulation hazard and violating the federal rattle standard. This company's website advertises that they offer natural wooden toys that are safe, lead free and handmade. While this is great and I applaud, today is a reminder that even the safest companies can run into a manufacturing problem that leads to a recall.

Earthentree recalled the following wooden toys made in India and sold between December 2007 and May 2008:

Large and Small Maracas

Pom Pom Rail Train

Duby and Duba Pull Toy

Duby Duck Pull Toy

Katerpillar Pull Toy

Kiddo

Rattleman

Six Ring Rattle

Turtle Family Pull Toy

Cat Rattle

Bear Rattle

Tutto Turtle Pull Toy

Choo Choo Train

Car Seat Strap Position

When my daughter was a baby, I remember reading about car seat straps and there was a difference in where the strap should be if the car seat was forward facing or rear facing. As my son has now switched from rear facing to forward facing in the car seat, I have been trying to remember what I read all those years ago. Finally I found the information again on the Dorel Juvenille Group (maker of Cosco, Eddie Bauer and Safety 1st Car Seats) website.

Forward Facing Car Seat
For a child that is in the forward facing toddler position, the straps must be even with or above the child's shoulders.
Rear Facing Car Seat
For an infant that is rear facing, the harness straps should be even with or just below the baby's shoulders. If the harness is above the baby's shoulders with the straps in the lowest position, do not use the car seat until the baby grows into it.

SmartToyChoice has expanded its toy recall service to include other children's products including car seats.

150,000 Remote Control Helicopters Recalled

Over 150,000 Remote Control Helicopters sold at Walgreens were recalled by the CPSC today due to Fire and Burn Hazards from the rechargeable battery. This is proof again of the following SmartToyChoice Ten Toy Recall Myths -

Only parents of preschool children need to worry about toy recalls
Not true. Parents of preschool children must worry about toy recalls, especially if their children are prone to putting toys in their mouths. Yet, not all recalls are for toys that cause problems when ingested. Easy Bake ovens were recalled because children’s hands were trapped and burned in the oven. Remote control airplanes were recalled because the batteries were catching fire or exploding and causing hearing loss.Toys were also recalled for breaking and causing lacerations.

For more of the Ten Toy Recall Myths please click on the following http://www.smarttoychoice.com/dsp/dsp_toy_recall_myths.php

Over 1 Million Toy Cell Phones Recalled Today Due To Choking Hazard

Over 1 million Little Tikes Chit N Chat Toy Cell Phones were recalled today due to a choking hazard. The CPSC and Little Tikes have received three reports of the toy breaking, including one report of a child beginning to choke on a small part. The affected phones were sold at department, juvenile product and drug stores nationwide from June 2006 to March 2008.

Big Day for Lead Paint Recall in Children’s Products

Today the CPSC issued seven new recalls on children’s toys and other products due to excessive lead. The recalls included the following:

Pirates of the Caribbean Sleeping Bag (sold at Disney Stores)
Tinker Bell Wand (sold at Disney Stores)
Basic Beat Shaker Guiro Instrument (sold by West Music)
Sure Grip Yellow Paint Brush (sold by Early Childhood Resource Distributors and to Teacher Supply Stores)
Floppy Friends Horse Toys
AND
The biggest lead paint recall today included over two million magnet sets by United Scientific sold to schools for use in science classes. These magnets have been sold to schools for the past 12 years (sales started in October 1996). An additioin 87,000 magnets by American Scientific were recalled for lead and these were sold to schools since 2006.

How Are Toy Makers Doing Financially After Last Year’s Record Toy Recalls?

Mattel reported a loss for the fist quarter of 2008 due to lower sales of Fisher-Price, legal expenses and higher costs. They are expecting to increase toy prices this year to raise profits.

Hasbro reported a strong first quarter profit on sales of the Transformers , Littlest Pet Shop and Playskool toys.

RC2 plagued with recalls last year on its Thomas and Friends toys reported a lower than expected quarterly profit.

Jakks Pacific maker of Fly Wheels which were recalled last year also reported lower profits due to litigation and product testing costs.

Rising Toy Prices and the Cost to Parents of Recalled Toys

Toy makers expect toy prices to increase by 5 to 10% by the end of the year. This price increase is apparently not due to all of the toy recalls last year but due to higher wages in China, higher costs of raw materials (plastic has risen by 25% over the past two years due to higher gas prices), and a weaker dollar compared to the Chinese yuan which makes it more expensive to buy Chinese goods.

While we as parents are going to have to pay more for our children’s toys, I would like to point out a statistic that SmartToyChoice follows which is the estimated amount of money parents spend on toys that are recalled. For the 30 toy recalls so far in 2008, the retail value of the toys recalled is $74 million ($611 million in 2007).

Recent Toy Recall Lawsuits

On April 11th, a lawsuit was filed against the CBS Corp, Planet Toy and retailers alleging there was asbestos in CSI Kits that were being sold.

Reebok International agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle allegations that they sold charm bracelets with excessive levels of lead which resulted in the death of a little girl.

1992 Toy Recall Statistics

I read in a blog recently, that in 1992 less than 40% of toys purchased in the US were from China. So I wondered if back in 1992 less than 40% of the recalled toys were from China. Here are my findings for 1992

21 Toy Recalls
1 Made in the USA
1 Made in Singapore
2 Made in Taiwan
3 Made in Hong Kong
5 Recalls didn't list where the toy was made
9 Made in China (42%)

Global Product Safety Standard Meeting in June

The EU and United States are meeting in June to consider a global set of product safety standards. Manufacturers such as Hasbro and Mattel are said to be in favor of a global standard according to an article in Reuters by Darren Ennis. Nancy Nord of the CPSC suggested in this article that one of the reasons for all of the toy recalls is that companies were manufacturing to different safety standards for different countries and that a global standard would help manufacturers to produce more consistent products.

The Words of a Five Year Old on Toy Recalls

As I prepared the SmartToyChoice.com Quarterly Newsletter today, my five year old daughter oohed and aahed over the pictures of toys I included in the newsletter. She would say - "Oh Mom - the Cinderalla Car looks so neat - and I would respond - "sorry, that has been recalled." Then she would say - "Oh Mom - look at that neat coaster" (referring to the Magtastik Wonder Coaster) and I would respond - "unfortunately that toy has been recalled too." After the third toy she asked about and I responded that it was part of a toy recall, my daughter exclaimed - "DON'T THEY MAKE ANY TOYS THAT AREN'T RECALLED!"

Plan Toys - The Green Company Recalls Toy Penguin

Yesterday, Plan Toys - Green Toy -Green Company, recalled their Toy Penguin due to a report of the head detaching and sharp connectors posing a laceration hazard. This recall from a "Green" Company supports the following SmartToyChoice "Ten Toy Recall Myths":


Only "toxic" toys are recalled
Not true. While lead paint in toys made the headlines in 2007, they accounted for only 41 of the 81 recalls, which was for just 4 million of the over 27 million toys recalled. The other 23 million toys recalled were due to magnets small enough to be swallowed, toys causing lacerations, severed fingers, burns, and loss of hearing.

Visit http://www.smarttoychoice.com/dsp/dsp_toy_recall_myths.php to read more toy recall myths that are untrue.

Easter Products Recalled from Hobby Lobby

Easter Egg Toys sold by Hobby Lobby are the second recall issued this week after the massive toy recall of over 2 million MEGA Brand Magnetic toys by the Consumer Products Safety Commission on March 17th. The Camouflage Eggs and Spinning Egg Top Toys, sold at Hobby Lobby stores since the beginning of 2008 were recalled today due to excessive lead. Almost 200,000 Battery Operated Puzzle Vehicle Sets sold through QVC since September 2002 were recalled on Thursday for excessive lead.

Update on Mega Brands Recall of MagnaMan and Magnetix Jr and Magtastik Toys

When I was updating the SmartToyChoice.com toy recall database for the Mega Brands Recall of MagnaMan, Magnetix Jr, and Magtastik toys, I noted that there was a discrepancy between the toys listed on the CPSC recall announcement and the Mega Brands recall website.

I contacted the manufacturer regarding the difference in toys listed and their reply was that Mega Brands recalled the entire line of toys so their site had the complete list of toys recalled.

If you are not already using the SmartToyChoice.com personalized toy recall notification service (as our database reflects the complete list of recalled toys), please note the following toys were left off the CPSC toy recall announcement - MagnaMan Drazor, MagnaMan Izor, and MagnaMan Captain One Eyed Jack - Mag Jr. Promo Pak, and Magnimals Bumblebee, Chick, Bunny, and Lamb.