Playing with Safety

Yesterday the USA Today featured a story on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) annual toy safety report and the continued risks toys can pose for young children:

There were 34 toy recalls in the 2011 fiscal year, ended Sept. 30, down from 172 in 2008.

Still, a Consumer Product Safety Commission report out today shows toy-related deaths of kids younger than 15 increased last year, and injuries remain alarmingly high, says CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.

Seventeen child fatalities last year were toy-related, up from 12 in 2010. Almost half were from choking on balloons and balls — products so common they're hard to regulate.

Despite an increase in safety regulations CPSC is under-staffed and under-funded; we need a strong civil justice system to encourage toy manufacturers to make their products as safe as possible.

Another alarming trend is the increase of toy manufacturing by foreign companies who are not held to the same safety standards as U.S. products because it is often difficult to hold them accountable in U.S. Courts.

Read more about the importance of the civil justice system when it comes to toys in AAJ’s report Playing with Safety.