Holiday shopping is underway this year, but not all presents are on the nice list, with research finding that some are more dangerous than others.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released their annual report of ‘Toy Related Deaths and Injuries’ for 2023, which shares details on which toys are the most likely to cause injuries and which age groups are most likely to get hurt from their toys, gadgets, and vehicles.
While, thankfully, there were very few toy related deaths last year, with a total of ten children dying from their toys, hundreds of thousands of children were taken to the Emergency Department after being injured by their toys in 2023.
CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said: “From online shopping to in-person gatherings, safety and protecting our children should be a top priority this holiday season.
“By being mindful of product hazards, checking for recalls and purchasing from reputable sources, you can protect your loved ones and ensure a joyous and accident-free holiday for all.”
Choking was the most deadly form of unsafe interaction with toys, as two children choked on bouncy balls and two children choked on crayons in 2023.
Six other children died from either drowning while playing, a collision, or ingesting a toy, as well as asphyxiation after getting trapped within a toy chest.
The majority of children who were injured or died from toy-related injuries last year were four years old or younger.
There were many more toy related injuries than deaths last year, with a total of 231,700 children having to go to the Emergency Department after getting cut by, hit by, or ingesting a toy.
Main: An ambulance in downtown Florence, Alabama. Inset: non-motorized scooters in Bayern, Germany. Non-motorized scooters are responsible for the most injuries sustained by children under 15 in the US last year. Main: An ambulance in downtown Florence, Alabama. Inset: non-motorized scooters in Bayern, Germany. Non-motorized scooters are responsible for the most injuries sustained by children under 15 in the US last year. Main: Dan Busey, Inset: Armin Weigel/Associated Press, Armin Weigel/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
The toys responsible for the largest share of injuries in 2023 were non-motorized scooters, which caused 53,000 injuries across all age groups last year.
One in five children below the age of 15 were injured while riding a non-motorized scooter in 2023.
One six year old child died on her scooter, however, the scooter did not kill her. She was riding it across a crosswalk when she was hit by a tractor-trailer driver. She was taken to hospital but passed away from her injuries.
The most common injury from a toy was a laceration, and the most commonly injured part of the body was the head.
Children who were four years-old or younger also had a higher rate of ingestion than other children.
The CPSC shared the following advice for people buying toys this holiday season: “Follow age guidance and other safety information on toy packaging and choose toys that match each child’s interests and abilities.
“Get safety gear, including helmets, for scooters and other riding toys–and make sure that children use them every time.
“Keep small balls and toys with small parts away from children younger than age 3 and keep deflated balloons away from children younger than age 8.
“Once the gifts are open, immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous playthings.”
The CPSC not only reported on dangerous toys that had already caused injuries but also worked with Customs and Border Patrol in 2024 to seize nearly 1.3 million dangerous or illegal toys. Over 100,000 of these toy seizures were related to them containing lead.
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