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Since a 10-month-old baby died in September last year due to swallowing a "water baby", the "water baby" toys have been recalled, banned by mainstream retailers, and now banned by the U.S. Congress.
Members of parliament are prohibiting it by law
Just this Thursday local time in the United States, the U.S. Senate of both parties introduced a bill proposing to ban the sale of "water babies". The bill was named Esther's Law, and Esther was the name of the 10-month-old baby who died as a result of the "water baby."
The Act requires:
- It is forbidden to sell "Aquababy" products to children as toys, educational materials, sensory tools, or art materials
- Consider color-limiting "water babies" that are used by other adults but are at risk of being swallowed by mistake to reduce their appeal to children and avoid the danger of ingestion
- Require a warning label on the packaging of "water baby" that is not used by children
Prior to the bill, the CPSC had urged parents to keep "water babies" away from children aged 3 or younger, and asked institutions such as kindergartens, children's camps and schools to avoid the use of "water babies" altogether.
The lawmaker who introduced the bill said: "When parents buy 'water babies' as toys and teaching aids, they will be confident that the products are safe. But this is not the case. Therefore, we need to do more to educate parents about the dangers and prevent accidents from happening. ”
"Deadly" toys were banned by the industry
The incident began last September when the baby was recalled due to the death of a baby caused by the death of an activity set (Buffalo Games' Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kits) exclusively sold by American retail giant Target. This is the first time in nearly a decade that a child has been reported dying from this toy.
Products that were recalled last year for causing the death of a baby
According to the reporter of the Chinese and foreign toy all-media center, in addition to the case mentioned at the beginning, there are 5 recall announcements on the CPSC official website in the past ten years about this kind of "water baby" toys, the most serious of which occurred in 2012, with a recall of 95,000 pieces, involving an 8-month-old baby who was injured and hospitalized. According to CPSC data, between 2016 and 2022, these toys have caused about 7,800 injuries.
In 2012, 95,000 related absorbent bead toys were recalled
In addition to the United States, such toys have also been banned repeatedly in China because of their danger (click to review).
In December last year, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Ebay, Etsy, AliExpress and many other large commercial companies have expressed their stance to ban water babies on the shelves in the toy category. (Click to review)
▍Source: Chinese and Foreign Toy Network (ctoy-gdta) Text/Editor: Jane/Salas