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A Barbie that records your kid’s conversations and submits it to headquarters — and a jump rope whose chemical contents one group says parents should skip — should be banished to 2015’s island of misfit toys, in the eyes of various consumer sentinels.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has invited nominees for Worst Toy of the Year, and Hello Barbie is on their list.
“Prepare your daughter for a lifetime of surveillance with Hello Barbie, the doll that records children’s private conversations and transmits them to cloud servers, where they are analyzed by algorithms and listened to by strangers,” the group says. “Girls will learn important lessons, like that a friend might really be a corporate spy, and that anything you say can and will be used for market research.”
Attempts to obtain comment from toymaker Mattel were not successful.
Or take the Fun Bubbles jump rope. It had "10 times the legal limit of the banned phthalate DEHP," which can have adverse health impacts, U.S. Public Interest Research Group said. The group said it took products from stores shelves and commissioned its own lab testing in its 30th annual Trouble in Toyland report released Tuesday.
A spokesman for distributor Ja-Ru Inc. of Jacksonville said the product has been tested multiple times by an accredited lab. “All test reports show that this toy meets all federal testing laws for safe toys,” a spokesman said.
Washington, D.C.-based PIRG acknowledged signs of “progress,” finding no lead in children’s toys in its testing this year, for example.
Still, it warns of toys containing “near small parts” that comply with federal law but could still pose a choking hazard in its view.
Another concern: noisy toys, and the potential effect on hearing. Examples: Vtech Go! Go! Smart Wheels, Vtech Go! Go! Smart Animals, Vtech Spin & Learn Color Flashlight, Fisher Price Click n Learn Remote, and Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set. While they don’t violate federal standards, the group found them “extremely loud at the ear and at a distance.”
Testing was done at a lab accredited by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, PIRG officials said. A toy industry group said the lab is accredited but not for all of the specific chemicals PIRG discusses.
The Toy Industry Association says no finding of lead, for instance, points to “stricter compliance and stricter enforcement and we’re seeing that in the marketplace,” Joan Lawrence, the group’s senior vice president of standards and regulatory affairs, told The Palm Beach Post.
The association says such lists often contain “false claims” and “needlessly frighten parents and caregivers.”
Trouble in Toyland reports have led to an estimated 150 recalls and other enforcement actions over the years, said Mike Litt, consumer advocate with U.S. PIRG.
“We think parents would be more scared if they had to go toy shopping without any information about how to recognize dangerous toys,” Litt said.
