The Christmas holidays can be a magical time for families, but they can also be a very dangerous time for those who haven’t done their homework about which toys will present a threat to their children. In a rush to get their products on store shelves before the Christmas shopping season begins, many companies don’t properly test their toys. This race to get products on the shelves can lead to shoddy manufacturing or design flaws that can put children in serious risk if they’re not caught soon enough and each year many dangerous products lawsuits are born out of this negligence. This is the major problem with Christmas: by the time the dangers of a toy are caught it’s already in the hands of hundreds of thousands of children around the world. If you want to make sure your gifts are safe and won’t present a threat to kids, then you should consider leaving these dangerous toys out of your shopping cart.
Morphobot: Imitation Transformer at Imitation Quality
Everybody is familiar with dollar store versions of popular toys and characters. For lower income families they provide an affordable alternative to the more expensive brand name toys, and allow children to have a Christmas tree stocked with toys. In order for some of these toys to be sold at lower prices they also lower the quality standard at which they are produced. This is the case with Morphobot, a robot action figure sold exclusively at Dollar Tree stores. The biggest issue with Morphobot toys is that they have much higher than acceptable lead quantities, testing at 180 ppm, which is 80 ppm over the current standard of 100 ppm. It manages to not break any laws because it was manufactured before the new lead standard was introduced in August 2011.
Kneeboards: A Hot Trend That is guaranteed to End with Injury
Some toys are rushed onto the market to try and beat any competitors that may release a similar product. This happens a lot with toys that are designed to be a new take on the skateboard, and the kneeboard is no different. The point of the Spinner Shark 4-Wheel Kneeboard is to lie down on all fours and grip a handle with your hands while racing your friends on a downhill surface. If the amount of warning labels that come with this product are any indication, this is a toy that should only be used by teenagers and not the “8+” that it is marketed towards. This kneeboard made “World Against Toys Causing Harm’s” annual list of the most dangerous toys.
Dora the Explorer Guitar: Dangerous for a Kid’s Ears
According to hearing experts, any toy used by a child should be no louder than 80db. The Dora the Explorer Guitar, manufactured by Fisher-Price and sold at Target stores, tests at over 85db. This many not seem like that large of a difference, but when it comes to the hearing of a developing child is there really any reason to take a chance? You need to make sure that any toy that makes noise, which includes tablets handed over to a kid, has a manageable decibel level otherwise there is a risk of doing damage to their hearing.
These three toys are the biggest violators this Christmas season. If you want to be safe then make sure to always do a little research into every toy you buy as a gift. You would be really surprised at how often major corporations release toys that have either tested poorly or have a design that will guarantee injury. Just make sure you’re safe this Christmas, because if you aren’t safe when buying a toy your child may not be safe playing with it.
If you or a loved one have been injured by dangerous toys or defective products you may have a product liability case. For more information, visit the website for The Law Office of Kevin Krist, a defective product lawyer located in Houston, Texas at www.KevinKristLaw.com.