CPSC urges safety when toy shopping this holiday season

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Consumer Product Safety Commission is out with new data from its latest toy-related deaths and injuries report.

“Make sure that you are looking at the age labeling on presents. and think about everybody in the household,” CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric said.

FOX 2 spoke with Hoehn-Saric about how shoppers can be more safety conscious this holiday season.

“If you're buying something for an older child in your house, think about the younger children too, both in terms of what you're buying and also how you take care of them once they're in the household," he said.

According to CPSC data, an estimated 154,700 children 12 years or younger were treated in emergency rooms due to toy-related injuries in 2023. The largest share of those injuries happened while playing with non-motorized scooters.

“If you're going to buy one, make sure that you're also getting appropriate safety equipment, helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and make sure the kids are safe; watch them and encourage them to play safely,” Hoehn-Saric added.

The 10 toy-related deaths last year were related to choking on small balls or crayons, drownings linked to flotation toys, entrapment inside a toy chest, and ingesting water beads. Saric says the materials you wrap your gifts with can also be a hazard if you’re not vigilant.

“If you are unwrapping presents, make sure that you're getting rid of the wrapping, especially the plastic wrapping, as quickly as you can, because, you know, a kid crawling around the floor might come upon that, and that's a choking hazard as well,” he said.

Consumers are urged to help the CPSC keep everyone safe by alerting the organization online.

“If you have a problem with any product, including toys, report it to us. We investigate all those reports, and then sometimes we're able to spot something before the couple things, even though so you may be saving somebody else's life if you're reporting a problem that you're seeing," Hoehn-Saric said.