32nd annual 'Trouble in Toyland' list of dangerous toys

BOSTON — MassPIRG, a public interest research group, is holding a news conference Tuesday morning to release it's 32nd annual "Trouble in Toyland" report and list of dangerous toy.

The report found that despite improvements from recent product safety regulation reforms, there are still dangerous toys on shelves that pose a safety hazard.

Among toys the group says are dangerous, lie ones they say are a violation of privacy.

They look like dolls which have appeared under Christmas trees for generations, but experts with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group say parents should avoid the popular My Friend Cayla dolls.

“It's not only apps and websites collecting information but toys in your home as well," MassPIRG’s Education Fund’s Nalini Ramachandran said. “The doll has been banned in Germany for privacy violations.”

Researchers say toys that can record voices and connect to the internet pose big privacy and personal security risks.

“In normal use, the doll captures detailed information about the child when the child answers seemingly harmless questions about friends or pets or anything," explained Ramachandran.

Also making MassPIRG's list of dangerous toys this year includes fidget spinners with lead paint, board games with small pieces and even balloons.

“Balloons are responsible for more choking deaths among kids than any other toy or children's products,” Ramachandran said.

Doctors at the floating hospital for children also said today they are seeing an increase in injuries caused by kids swallowing the small button-sized batteries found in electronic toys.

“Unfortunately, the damage we can see from this in the esophagus can happen in just two or three hours,” Tufts Medical Center’s Pediatric Emergency Medicine Chief Dr. Emory Petrack explained.

To read the full report, click here.

Cox Media Group