Toy-Related Injuries Linked to at Least 10 Child Deaths Last Year: CPSC Warns

Federal safety officials urge parents and caregivers to remain aware of the gifts they give during the holiday season, as many toys carry significant risks.

As consumers prepare for the holiday season and gift-shopping begins to ramp up, federal safety officials are urging parents and caregivers to be aware of the risks presented by some toys, including scooters, water beads and other popular items marketed in recent years, which have been linked to reports of severe injuries and deaths.

Last year, more than 230,000 children suffered injuries from toys, including at least 10 children who died, according to a report on Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries in 2023 released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) last week. Many of the injuries involved electric scooter accidents or swallowing small objects, such as water beads.

CPSC investigators found that in 2023, one out of every five children who were injured by a toy received that injury due to a scooter, resulting in more than 53,000 ER visits across all age groups, making it the most common source of toy-related injuries last year.

Cuts to the skin were the most common type of injuries, while bruises and scrapes were the second most common injury. Bone fractures came in third.

For children under five years old, however, the most common injuries were linked to ingestion and internal injuries from ingesting small balls, water beads or pieces of toys.

Most childhood toy deaths were linked to choking hazards from small objects or crayons, followed by drownings linked to flotation toys, entrapment from toy chests, and swallowing water beads.

Thousands of children have suffered serious injuries after ingesting water beads in recent years, which occur when the small spheres rapidly expand after coming into contact with liquid in the digestive tract. This can result in intestinal blockages, severe abdominal pain, dehydration and other life-threatening injuries, which often require emergency surgery.

Federal safety officials also highlighted risks associated with toys that contain lead, a toxic heavy metal that can cause serious health side effects in children. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 1.6 million illegal toys in 2024 so far, of those 102,000 were due to lead contamination.

Following substantial efforts in recent years to recall dangerous toys from the U.S. market, the CPSC notes that the number of serious injuries experienced by children under 15 years old has dropped by 5% since 2016, while ER visits linked to toys among children under 13 has dropped by 8% over that same period.

Seasonal Child Injuries

Aside from injuries linked to consumer toys, the CPSC also indicated in a Holiday Safety notice that cooking fires and Christmas decorations lead to many seasonal child injuries.

The commission noted that there are more than 352,000 residential fires every year and cooking accounts for nearly half of those. Cooking fires spike on Thanksgiving Day, resulting in an average of 1,400 cooking fires on Thanksgiving every year.

The CPSC offered recommendations to help consumers prevent toy-related injuries this holiday season and in the year to come:

• Follow age recommendations for toys and other safety information on packaging.
• Get safety gear such as helmets for riding toys.
• Keep small balls and toys with small parts away from young children.
• Never leave food cooking unattended on the stove or in the oven.
• Only fry a turkey outside and away from flammable materials.
• Remember to water a live Christmas tree or buy a fire-resistant artificial tree.