WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – After digging deep researchers found a hidden danger lurking inside your child's toys.
Rachel Carpenter a Salt Lake City mom of two, likes watching her kids play at Discovery Gateway Children's Museum, but she says at home it's not as easy.
“I can't always watch them,” she said.
To help moms like Carpenter, U.S. Public Interest Research Group examined more than 200 toys at major retailers and tested more than three dozen for lead and chemicals.
Only one - a Morphobot action figure - turned up lead levels that exceeded the new stricter federal limit.
But the primary concern this year is small toys that could choke children. Sizzlers are an elliptical shaped toy making them very easy to swallow, but they're also magnetic which can cause internal damage.
“One magnet is here the other magnet is here and then they rub the walls of the intestine together ultimately they'll rub their way through then you have a hole in the intestine,” said Dr. Jeffrey Upperman, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
Noisy toys are another hazard. The report finds the Dora the Explorer Guitar is too loud by safety standards.
"Children, with their sensitive ears, can only take in so much noise and especially at such a close range,” said Irene Cadwell of NC PIRG.
Doctors have suggested these tips for toy safety: select the toys to suit the age of the child, avoid toys with small parts, look for sturdy construction and monitor your child's play. Carpenter agrees, parents play a large role in toy safety.
“I think it's a parent responsibility to pay attention to what your kids have, just like Halloween candy,” she said. “It's kind of up to you to pay attention to what they're playing with and what they're doing.”
The full report is available here: http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/USPIRG_Trouble_in_Toyland_0.pdf
