Erin LongChildren’s products are held to a much higher safety standard than other household goods. Yet every year, popular toys, furniture, and even clothing are pulled from the shelves for being too dangerous. Here are some of the most dangerous products for children that were ever sold. What were they thinking?
Hoverboards and Power Wheels
The hottest trend of 2015–pun intended–was the “hoverboard” style of electric scooter. It felt like the future was finally here! Except that companies had to recall over half a million of the scooters because they had a habit of catching on fire.
Fisher-Price Power Wheels toys have been around a lot longer than hoverboards and have significantly more issues. These “toys” are basically just small electric cars. Hundreds of kids ended up getting hurt by faulty products that shorted out, melted, or kept moving after the brake was deployed. Fisher-Price eventually recalled 10 million Power Wheels models.
Maybe we shouldn’t give small children their own cars?
IKEA Dressers
Although they aren’t made for children specifically, IKEA’s cheap, flat-pack furniture is a popular choice for kids’ rooms. Unfortunately, their MALM dressers have caused the deaths of multiple children. The dressers represent a major tipping hazard if kids try to climb on the drawers or even use the furniture to pull themselves upright.
IKEA has recalled 29 million dressers to date. The solution is a relatively simple one–a cheap wall anchor kit can stop the furniture from tipping over. Despite that quick fix, IKEA continued to manufacture and sell these dresses without wall mounts for almost 15 years, even after children died.
Inclined Sleepers
Inclined Sleepers, a type of bassinet that’s popular due to its low price and portability, are responsible for more than 70 infant deaths. Multiple manufacturers began recalling the sleepers last year, but you may still sometimes find them at thrift shops or yard sales.
More than 5 million sleepers from various brands were recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns parents and caregivers not to use these bassinets because of the high risk of suffocation.
Lawn Darts
The most infamous children’s toy in history might be lawn darts. Essentially, this “game” was a set of steel-tipped javelins with dart-style plastic flights on the back. Players were supposed to aim at the ground, but inevitably, the darts ended up in bodies instead. Three children died, and many more were injured.
The game was so dangerous that not only was it recalled, but the government banned it in 1988 and urged anyone who owned lawn darts to destroy them.
