What Shouldn't Be On Your Holiday Shopping List: 2014's 10 Worst Toys

By Liz Taurasi (Patch Staff)

This year’s list of “10 Worst Toys of 2014” is out just in time to get a jump on your holiday shopping.

The group, World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. this week revealed its nominees for the “10 Worst Toys of 2014” and demonstrated the reason “toy bottle rockets,” and other potentially hazardous toys, should not be in the hands of children this holiday season.

And while some may seem obvious to parents - like the Bottle Rocket Party or the True Legends Orcs Battle Hammer, a couple of dolls and a pull toy also made this year’s list.

This year’s toy report, announced by Consumer Advocates Joan E. Siff, President of W.A.T.C.H., and James A. Swartz, a nationally known trial attorney and Director of W.A.T.C.H., demonstrats the types of toy hazards parents should watch-out for. Siff and Swartz also provided up-to-date information about toy recalls and stressed the necessity for vigilance during holiday shopping.

Below are the toys on the list for 2014 with information from W.A.T.C.H. (click on the links to read full descriptions):

1. Zing’s Air Storm Firetek Bow, Ages 8+ - This “light-up power” bow and arrow set is sold with three “screaming whistle” arrows which are marketed as being able to fly “up to 145 ft!” according to W.A.T.C.H.
2. Radio Flyer’s Radio Flyer Ziggle, Ages 3-8 - The seat of this small, four-wheeled cycle is approximately 8 inches off the ground. Young children are encouraged to “swerve & spin”, “try new tricks” and “race around the block….” Its low profile makes the toy potentially hazardous for outdoor use, the group says.
3. Toysmith’s Catapencil, (no age recommndation) - Children of all ages, while being advised to “play safe and enjoy,” are also encouraged to use a pencil-turned-catapult for “target practice for your desktop!” the group points out. Sharpened pencils should not be marketed as playthings, much less a miniature slingshot-style launcher. There are no warnings or age recommendations.
4. Skip Hop’s Alphabet Zoo Rock & Stack Pull Toy, Age 18 month + - Despite the industry’s standard requiring strings on playpen and crib toys to be less than 12 inches in length, manufacturers are still permitted to market “pull toys” such as the “Alphabet Zoo Rock & Stack” with a cord measuring approximately 20 inches, says W.A.T.C.H.
5. Junxing Toys’ Swat Electric Machine Gun, Ages 5+ - In today’s world, there is no excuse for outfitting children with realistic toy weapons designed to produce potentially dangerous and unnecessary thrill, the group says.
6. Walmart’s Wooden Instruments, Ages 12 months and up - This multi-colored instrument set is sold for babies as young as twelve-months-old. The manufacturer provides no warnings regarding the slender, rigid approximately 4½” long drumstick, which has the potential to be mouthed and occlude a child’s airway, according to W.A.T.C.H.
7. Norman & Globus’ Bottle Rocket Party, Ages 8+ - 8-year-old children, or “rocketeers”, are advised by the manufacturer of this “party kit” that “shooting off bottle rockets is a major event,” W.A.T.C.H. says.
8. JC Toys’ Lil’ Cutesies - Best Friends, Ages 2+ - These dolls, marketed for oral-age children as young as 2-years-old, are touted as the “perfect friend for your little one.” Many of these toys, however, are sold with a decorative bow made of ribbon which can detach from the head of the baby doll, posing the potential for choking if ingested, the group says.
9. Toys “R” Us’ True Legends Orcs Battle Hammer, Ages 3+ - Children are encouraged to play the part of a “Savage Orc” by wielding a hard plastic “Battle Hammer” measuring almost 2 feet in length, according to the group.
10. Toys “R” Us’ Colored Hedgehog, Ages 0+ - This soft, colorful hedgehog is sold for infants. The toy has long, fiber-like hair that is not adequately rooted and is easily removable, presenting the potential for ingestion or aspiration injuries, W.A.T.C.H. says.

» Read W.A.T.C.H.’s full report on its 2014 10 Worst Toy List