US consumer group lists most dangerous toys of 2017

Fidget spinner (Pixabay photo)

WASHINGTON — A consumer safety group released Tuesday its annual list of worst toys as the holiday season nears.

Fidget spinners, a Wonder Woman sword, and remote-controlled Spider-Man drone are among the toys on the list unveiled by World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, at a children’s hospital in Boston.

A stacking toy for babies, which was recalled in August as a result of “fabric hats and bows that can detach, posing a choking hazard,” was also named by WATCH. The product is still available online.

Those tagged also include “Heel Wheels,” which can transform kids’ shoes into roller skates, and “Slackline,” a tightrope-like device designed to be anchored between two trees.

A 2014 study released by the US Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital said that once every three minutes a kid in the country is treated in the emergency room for a toy-related injury.

WATCH said that its report, based on a review of the most recent childhood injury and fatality statistics, aims to reduce such hazards by addressing products available online and in retail stores so parents can have better-informed shopping trips.

“Behind the statistics are real children that have been injured or tragically lost their lives,” WATCH President Joan Siff said Tuesday.

The Toy Association, a US trade group, dismissed the list as “needlessly frightening” because it claims all toys sold in the country meet “rigorous” safety standards.

The nonprofit WATCH has been producing its list for over 40 years.