Government Warns of Recalled Toys

WASHINGTON – A reminder from the government: check those holiday shopping lists to make sure no recalled children's toys are on them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (search) compiled its annual top 10 list of children's product safety recalls to coincide with the start of the holiday shopping season.

The toys should all be off store shelves. The commission worries that people who did their shopping early might have gifts stashed under the bed that have since been recalled.

All the products were recalled in the past year, the commission said. A Nerf football and a Batmobile toy car were among some of the items on the list being released Monday.

The agency received reports of 11 toy-related deaths in 2003 involving children under age 15, down from 13 reported deaths in 2002. Almost half the deaths involved small toy balls that children choked on.

The agency also is launching Neighborhood Safety Network (search), a Web-based grass-roots effort to help spread the word about safety recalls to consumers who may be harder to reach.

CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton (search) said the network will put lifesaving information into the hands of people who need it most. "These messages are posted and passed on in Boys and Girls Clubs, American Indian reservations, fire houses and housing projects," he said.

The list of top recalled children's toys and products includes:

— 398,000 Bumble Bee toys distributed by Graco Children's Products. Graco received 26 reports of antennae breaking off the toys, including five reports of children who started to choke on the broken piece.

— 294,000 Nerf Big Play Footballs distributed by Hasbro. The football contains a hard plastic interior frame that can pose a risk of facial cuts. Nine incidents of facial injuries have been reported, including eight that required stitches or medical attention.

— 225,000 Carter's children's mirror books distributed by Kids II Inc. The mirror in the books can crack or break, posing a laceration hazard to children. Kids II has received 26 reports of the mirror cracking or breaking, including four reports of cuts.

— 314,000 Batman Batmobile toy vehicles distributed by Mattel Inc. The rear tail wings of the Batmobile are made of rigid plastic and come to a point, which poses a potential puncture or laceration hazard. Mattel has received 14 reports of injuries.