NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- While shoppers will be eagerly snapping up toys for their children this holiday season, one consumer advocacy group is urging vigilance before parents spend asingle dollar.
Issuing its 21st annual "Trouble in Toyland" report Tuesday, the Washington-based U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) warned that there are many toys out there that pose significant safety hazards to children.
"While we can report substantial progress after more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of America's littlest consumers, U.S. PIRG's researchers still found trouble in toyland," U.S. PIRG Research Director Alison Cassady, the author of the report, said.
Nearly 73,000 children under the age of five visited the emergency room for toy related injuries in 2005, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and 20 children died from toy-related injuries last year.
PIRG, which visited both toy stores and retailers to find toys carrying safety risks, focused on four specific toy dangers - choking, strangulation, dangerously loud toys and those that contain toxic chemicals.
Choking on small parts, balls or balloons remains the biggest threat posed to children, according to PIRG, particularly from such toys as Wal-Mart's (Charts) Kid Connection Mini Activity Cube.
Hasbro's (Charts) Lincoln Logs Frontier Firehouse was another toy singled out by PIRG that could pose a choking hazard, while Little Tikes' Carry Along Musical Keyboard with Teaching Lights was considered a dangerously loud toy for children by PIRG.
PIRG also warned of a number of toys that contain magnets, which could cause internal harm if swallowed by a child.
"Swallowing a magnet is not like swallowing a penny," said Cassady. "Powerful magnets can wreak havoc inside the body."
The consumer watchdog also said it discovered a number of toys, including cosmetics and jewelry, that contain harmful chemicals, including high concentrations of lead that can cause lead poisoning.
The Toy Industry Association, which represents North American toymakers and distributors, issued a statement in response, claiming that reports produced by groups such as PIRG needlessly frighten parents.
"Toys are an easy target, and we are very concerned by reports that ignore or misinterpret the facts," said the industry group. "Very few of the toys named ever turn out to actually pose a safety concern when played with as designed."
"Consumers should know that toys sold in the United States are the most highly regulated and monitored in the world."
Calls to a number of manufacturers including Hasbro and Little Tikes, whose toys were cited in the report, were not immediately returned.
While most toys were produced by private firms or imported into the U.S. from foreign countries, a number of the toys cited by PIRG were produced by large U.S. companies, including Mattel (Charts).
Report: Hazardous toys to avoid this holiday season
FRIDAY, Nov. 29 (BabyCenter News) — Hazardous toys are still sold in stores across the country, says a toy safety report released last week by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).
The group's 21st annual "Trouble in Toyland" report provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards and offers safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), almost 73,000 children under the age of 5 were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in 2005, the most recent year for which numbers are available. Twenty of those children died.
"Even one toy-related death is too many, because these deaths are preventable," said U.S. PIRG Research Director Alison Cassady in a prepared statement.
The "Trouble in Toyland" report warns consumers about four categories of toy dangers: choking hazards, powerful magnets, lead, and strangulation hazards.
Choking hazards
In its research, U.S. PIRG found toys for sale with small parts for children under 3 and under 6 without the required choke hazard warning. This is despite the CPSC's 1979 ban of the sale of toys for children under 3 if they contain small parts, and 1994's Child Safety Protection Act, which required an explicit choke hazard warning on toys with small parts for children between 3 and 6.
Children continue to choke on toys that meet the letter of the law. In September, Playskool recalled the Team Talkin' Tool Bench after two children suffocated when the toy's oversized plastic nails became lodged in their throats. U.S. PIRG found several toys on store shelves that have parts shaped like corks or these toy nails that could pose similar suffocation hazards.
Magnetic toys
Toymakers have started using powerful magnets in building toys and magnetic jewelry. If a child swallows more than one magnet, the magnets can attract each other inside the body and cause a bowel obstruction or life-threatening tear in the intestines.
A little boy died last Thanksgiving and many others have had life-saving surgery after swallowing magnets from MEGA Brands' Magnetix toys. MEGA Brands has modified the design of Magnetix and placed a label on the toy's packaging warning parents about the dangers of magnets.
U.S. PIRG has called on CPSC to require a warning label on all magnetic toys that tells parents to seek immediate medical attention if a child swallows magnets.
Lead in jewelry
Children exposed to lead can suffer delayed mental and physical development or even death. In February, a 4-year-old died of lead poisoning after he swallowed a bracelet charm that contained 99 percent lead. U.S. PIRG researchers went to just a few stores and easily found four items of children's jewelry that contain high levels of lead, ranging from 1.8 percent lead to 34 percent lead by weight.
"We've known for decades that lead poses serious health risks to children, so it's unacceptable that consumers can still find lead-laden children's jewelry on store shelves," said Cassady.
Strangulation hazards
Cords and elastics attached to toys can hurt children by wrapping around their neck or other body part and causing strangulation or cutting off blood flow.
One toy in particular that's caused problems in recent years is the water yo-yo: a liquid-filled ball at the end of a stretchy cord. Last month, a 5-year-old Bellevue, Washington boy almost suffocated when the toy's cord wrapped tightly around his neck several times. CPSC has recorded about 400 injuries to the eyes, face and neck since the water yo-yo ball came on the market three years ago.
"CPSC should not wait until a child dies to protect children from the dangers posed by playing with this toy," said Cassady. Her group is asking the CPSC to ban the water yo-yo immediately.
Cassady reminded parents that the toy list in the U.S. PIRG report is only a sampling of the potential hazards on store shelves.
"Shoppers should examine all toys carefully for hidden dangers before they make a purchase this holiday season," she said.
-- Jenny Des Jarlais, BabyCenter News
What you can do
• Read U.S. PIRG's full report.
• Find out what toys are ideal for your child's age.
• Check our handy recall finder to see what toys have been recalled by the CPSC.
