Annual Trouble in Toyland Report Highlights This Year’s Hazardous Toys

As parents prepare to begin their Christmas shopping, local public advocacy group MASSPIRG presented the findings of their 31st annual Trouble in Toyland survey of toy safety Tuesday.

MASSPIRG's Shawna Upton explained to children at Dartmouth's Kiddie Kampus about common dangers such as choking hazards, overheating batteries and lead paint.

Though many of these products have been placed on recall lists, some can still be found online and Upton says parents need to remain vigilant.

"It's harder to monitor all of the avenues where people buy things or resell things so I definitely think that's where some things are slipping through the cracks as far as getting recalled toys through other avenues other than big retail stores," said Upton.

Upton suggests checking up on recall lists published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission occasionally.

Kiddie Kampus has been hosting the presentation of the report for the past 15 years and daycare director Ann Nunes says teachers take time to talk with parents about toy safety.

"Usually the teachers will sit with the children and want to know what they want for Chirstmas and the teachers will share that with parents and put in a little bit of their own opinion on whether or not it's appropriate for the child," Nunes said.

MASSPIRG found over 16 toys that have been recalled available for sale online and warn consumers to check recall lists.

The full report of this year's survey can be found here.