Safety Alert -- Magnet "Toys" Can Cause Serious Mishaps


GH Safety AlertWe've all seen them, if not owned them...sculptures, puzzles, and stress relievers like the popular Buckyballs that incorporate small, high-powered magnets. When one's sitting in front of you, it's hard to resist "playing" with it. And there lies the spite of the fact that their labeling states that they're not for use by children, these "toys" are pretty irresistible to kids. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that small, high powered magnet sets are responsible for 1,700 emergency room-treated injuries between 2009 and 2011, 70% of which have been to children 4 to 12 years of age. If swallowed, these magnets can link together inside a child's intestines and clamp onto body tissues, causing intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis, and either serious lifelong health effects or death. Scary stuff!

The CPSC is working to develop a federal standard for small, high-powered magnet sets that would set performance requirements for them based on their size and strength. Those that don't meet the performance requirement won't be able to be sold as manipulatives or desk toys.

Regardless of whether magnet sets are intended for adults or kids, you should be vigilant.  Magnet sets that are sold as toys can be great educational tools and are designed according to established standards for strength and size, but kids can use toys in inventive ways! Our advice: Make sure any magnetic toys you purchase are labeled that they comply to ASTM F963 - but even so, keep a close eye on children when they're playing with them. For more information, visit the CPSC's magnets information center.

If you're looking for safe toys, check out the past winners of our Annual Toy Awards and stay tuned for the announcement of this year's winners in the December issue of Good Housekeeping. Our awards are based on play-testing from kids but before they arrive, we eliminate any toys that we identify as potentially harmful after drop testing them, reviewing their safety documentation, and playing with them ourselves!