Tag Archives: Toy Recalls

Oct 14 2009

Biggest Toy Recalls of 2008 for Preschoolers and Big Kids


I was reading Parents.com today and they had a fantastic article with links , listing toy recalls for 2008 and 2009. (along with everything from cribs to clothing)

With Christmas and Hanuka so close on our heels it pays to be careful.Here is the link to the toy recalls and from there you can search all areas of recall by topic.
TOY RECALLS

Here’s to safe and happy kids everywhere!
Hugs! Kathi

Dec 17 2008

CPSC Recalls Toy Dinosaurs for Lead Paint

As I’ve mentioned before, I am on the toy recall email list for the Consumer Products Safety Commission. This evening I got an alert about a recall for toy dinosaurs, something I am VERY familiar with as I am sure many parents with boys are (not that girls don’t like them too….). The dinosaurs have been voluntarily been recalled because paint on the toy dinosaurs can contain excessive levels of lead.
The dinosaurs were sold through Xtreme Toy Zone’s web site between May and October of this year. They are battery operated and they move and make sounds.  The recall includes the models shown below.  If you purchased a dinosaur from Xtreme Toy Zone you will want to check the battery cover for the model number.  If yours is part of the recall you should take it away immediately and contact the company for a refund.
More information is available on the CPSC web site, here.

Dinosaurs 1 Dinosaurs 2

Nov 14 2008

Toy Recalls this Holiday Season

With the holidays fast approaching and my shopping efforts about to head into high gear I’ve been thinking a lot about the issues we all had with product recalls last year. Outside of dreading the trip to the mall (I am a terrible online shopper) one of the things I have not been looking forward to is cross checking the boys’ wish list with the Consumer Product Safety Commissions list of recalled/dangerous toys.  Well imagine my glee when I read that toy recalls (a major bummer last year) were down 46% from last year in the Washington Post.  

The toy recall numbers for 2008 were released during a press conference held by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Wednesday. During the press conference the CPSC said the number of toy recalls had dropped to 74 in 2008 from 138 in 2007. Additionally, the number of recalls involving toys containing lead has gone down to 45 compared to 97 last year.

I am sure you’ll agree that this is great news but I hope that they will remain aggressive and that this number will zero out soon.

The CPSC attributes the drop to their increased surveillance which includes more inspections, stronger voluntary safety standards and efforts of toy makers to keep dangerous toys off the shelves.

While this is great news I personally and still sad that the number is still as high as it is. While I recognize that there are thousands of toy makers out there, and that the CPSC has a tough job, the bright-eyed optimist in me still wishes they could get that number down to zero.

One bright bit of news is that the new safety standards take affect in February of next year! These new requirements will force manufacturers to test all toys and get them certified as safe by an outside party.

To stay up-to-date on the efforts of the CPSC I highly recommend signing up for their email alerts.  They are great at getting important safety information out right away.

Several stores like Toys R Us and Wal-Mart  and manufacturers like Mattel and Hasbro also provide information on toy recalls on their web sites

Jun 13 2007

Thomas the Tank Engine Recall

Being the mother of two young boys, both obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine, the following scared me a bit when I first read it.
RC2 Corp., the maker of Thomas the Tank Engine toys, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today the recall of a number of Thomas the Tank Engine trains and accessory parts because they are colored with lead paint. There have been no reports of injuries.
The recall is pretty big and included Thomas products sold from January 2005 through the present.
According to the CPSC, the recall involves the wooden vehicles, buildings and other train set items listed below. The front of the packaging has the logo “Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway” on the upper left-hand corner. A manufacturing code may be located on the bottom of the product or inside the battery cover. Toys marked with codes containing “WJ” or “AZ” are not included in this recall.
Here is a list of the items that have been recalled. If you are like me you’ll be printing the list out and searching through trains for the rest of the evening.
Red James Engine & Red James’ # 5 Coal Tender
Red Lights & Sounds James Engine & Red James’ #5 Lights & Sounds Coal Tender
James with Team Colors Engine & James with Team Colors #5 Coal Tender
Red Skarloey Engine
Brown & Yellow Old Slow Coach
Red Hook & Ladder Truck & Red Water Tanker Truck
Red Musical Caboose
Red Sodor Line Caboose
Red Coal Car labeled “2006 Day Out With Thomas” on the Side
Red Baggage Car
Red Holiday Caboose
Red “Sodor Mail” Car
Red Fire Brigade Truck
Red Fire Brigade Train
Deluxe Sodor Fire Station
Red Coal Car Yellow Box Car
Red Stop Sign
Yellow Railroad Crossing Sign
Yellow “Sodor Cargo Company” Cargo Piece
Smelting Yard
Ice Cream Factory
The company is asking that you take the toys away immediately and contact them for a replacement. You can reach them, toll-free, at (866) 725-4407 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday and between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. CT Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at recalls.rc2.com