Yo-Yo Balls: Why are these toys being sold?

Lipin calls that advisory “a bunch of hooey.” She wants the commission to reconsider its decision and ban the toy.

“I think they’re waiting for a child to die,” Lipin says.

Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the agency, denies that allegation. “It is absolutely not the case that we are waiting for a death to act,” he says.

Consumer Reports says this toy has “morphed into different shapes that hold even more hazards.” The fluid has been replaced by a battery and electrical components that make the toy blink.

The magazine’s editors say that in lab tests and real life tests with kids, “the parts fell out of the squishy material or tore through it in four of the six toys we tried.” Consumer Reports warns that kids could choke on these parts, including the battery “which could eat away at the esophagus or stomach lining.”

Should Congress act?
U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., wants Congress to ban the Yo-Yo ball. “I think a serious injury or death is quite possible if we don’t act on this.” She points out that when “used properly” this toy is “a real danger.”

Last year, Schakowsky, who thinks there are significantly more than 410 children who have been injured by Yo-Yo Balls, introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of this toy. She is critical of the way the Consumer Product Safety Commission has acted. “We treat our children like crash dummies,” she told me. “When something happens, then we might do something. In this case, we still haven’t done anything.”

Yo-Yo Balls are banned in Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. As of Jan. 1, 2006, they are also banned in Illinois. Lipin convinced lawmakers in her state to take action. She has also managed to get some big retailers, including Wal-Mart, Toys 'R' Us, and Walgreen’s to stop selling them. Ebay will no longer allow them to be listed for sale.

But Yo-Yo balls are still available at party stores and from various on-line retailers. That’s why Consumer Reports, the Consumer Federation of America, Underwriters Laboratories and other consumer groups want a federal ban on sales.

Don Mays, director of product safety at Consumer Reports, says the time to act is now. “Let’s not wait for a death to occur before we deal with a product with a known hazard,” he says.

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