Toy Trouble: Hazardous toys remain on sale – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

When her nine month old daughter started acting differently, Folichia Mitchell knew something was wrong; she just didn’t know how wrong.

“As the weekend went on, the vomiting and spitting up started to progress and it started to be every couple of times she would eat,” Mitchell remembered.

She took her daughter, Kennedy, to the pediatrician and things quickly escalated from there. At the hospital, an ultrasound technician found a circular object lodged in Kennedy’s intestines.

“The ultrasound tech asked, ‘Do you have any marbles at home?’ and I said, ‘No, my kids don’t play with marbles,” Mitchell said.

While Mitchell’s home didn’t have marbles, she did buy water beads for her 8-year-old son just days before. The toy starts out as small as a sprinkle but expands in water to the size of a small marble. She said she kept the beads contained and out of reach of her younger children.

“I was so shocked. I still am,” Mitchell said. “I often think about where she got that or when she got that.”

However, Kennedy somehow did get a hold of a bead. That single bead blocked her intestines and lead to organ damage, Mitchell said.

“We thought we were going to lose her,” she said.

The damage led to five surgeries and a month-long stay in the hospital late last fall. At times, doctors weren’t sure if Kennedy would survive. Fortunately, she did.

A year later, Mitchell said her daughter is happy and doing well but will always carry some health risk factors.

The Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit Mitchell purchased did have a warning that included age limits and flagged a chocking hazard, but she wishes there would have been more.

“I know how to keep my children safe from that. What I didn’t know how to keep them safe from was something that could cause intestine blockage or organ damage,’ she said.

The Chuckle & Roar kit was removed from store shelves shortly after Kennedy’s hospitalization. The kit, however, was not recalled; an action that usually spreads more public awareness about a product’s potential dangers.

Eight months after Kennedy was hospitalized, a baby in Wisconsin died from swallowing the same beads. The product’s company, Buffalo Games, voluntarily recalled the product two months later in September 2023.

Buffalo Games told 7 Investigates the product was tested and passed the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards before the kit was sold. The company said it “takes consumer safety very seriously.”

Attorney James Swartz is the director of ‘World Against Toys Causing Harm’ (WATCH) he said this lag time between toys causing harm and the product being recalled is common.

“We are finding so many toys that are on shelves that in our opinion shouldn’t be there,” Swartz said.

Swartz pointed to the Calico Critters recall from this spring as another example. The animal figures sold with bottle and pacifier accessories were connected with deaths in 2015 and 2018 but the toy wasn’t recalled until 2023.

The company that makes Calico Critters, Epoch Everlasting Play, said it stopped distributing the recalled accessories in 2021 and voluntarily worked with CPSC to recall the product this year.

“Nothing is more important to us at Epoch Everlasting Play (EEP) than the safety and well-being of children,” the company wrote in a statement to 7 Investigates.

Swartz explained part of the problem is on the enforcement side. There is an increase in toys made internationally and the government agencies tasked with monitoring them are understaffed and underfunded.

“Frankly, it just seems like the government can’t keep up and that’s why you are seeing so many of these hazardous toys make their way to the shelves and seeing so many recalls happen through the course of the year,” Swartz said.

The CPSC often depends on companies to self-report and initiate the recall. After risks are reported, the agency investigates and works to issue the recall; a process that can take months. If companies refuse a recall, litigation forcing them to do so could take years. The CPSC admits more funding would make the process faster and more efficient.

However, even when a recall is finally issued, it doesn’t always stop the toys from ending up for sale online.

“Once these defective toys get into the marketplace, there is no way to get them back. They are out there,” Swartz said.

7 Investigates found multiple toys recalled this year were still available for resale online.

Swatz said because of this it is important for manufactures to create safe toys from the beginning.

“It’s their responsibility to design these products properly so when they are in the hands of children, whatever these toys are, the risk or potential risks are minimized,” he said.

His organization annually releases the ’10 Worst Toys’ list that aims to educate families on the potential danger in toys that are still on shelves.

“The biggest message that we hope to get out this holiday season is not to assume toys are safe simply because they are on the shelf or available for sale online,” Swartz said.

While the water bead kit Mitchell purchased is no longer for sale, other water bead brands are.

“It makes me scared and worried and it makes me feel hustled because it’s like where is everyone? I’m seeing a very big problem here and there is a lot we could do about it,” Mitchell said.

The Maine mom has joined nationwide efforts to spread awareness about the harm behind water beads in an effort to protect other children.

“I didn’t want this to happen to other people and it seemed like such a senseless injury,” Mitchell said. “Why are they still on the market if they are this dangerous and there are so many other options?”

New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone introduced a bill in November that would ban water beads nationwide.

Mitchell is hoping these changes and awareness will give other families the warning hers didn’t get.

“You never change when a doctor looks at you and says your baby might die; that changes you and it changes your life,” Mitchell said.

Swartz is reminding all toy shoppers this season to check toys for any red flags before gifting them to children and to stay on top of any recalls.

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