“Dangerous and illegal:” Parents warned against buying cheap children’s toys online

A 51-piece doctor’s playset, which was sold on Wish, had at least 20 choking hazards.

Shopping online has never been more popular than it was during the lockdown. We relied on digital shopping trips for essentials like grocery shopping, school supplies, and pet food. We even treated ourselves to the odd jumper on ASOS or ordered food from our favourite takeaway on a dreary Friday night when the idea of cooking was just not pleasant. However, as we all know too well, the Internet has many flaws. We're wary of trolls, scams and false advertisements, but parents are now being warned about purchasing toys online. It has been discovered that many toys sold online are actually both dangerous and illegal. According to a report, over 40% of toys from online stores failed a series of safety tests. Which?, the consumer group, analysed a total of 28 toys. They were purchased on websites including Amazon, Wish and AliExpress. The toys were tested against British safety standards. 50 safety failures were discovered during the investigation. It is believed 12 toys posed a major safety risk. 10 toys were a choking hazard. A further two toys put children at risk of strangulation, they found. Another two days contained batteries or magnets that could be easily swallowed, they shared. One toy, in particular, was a major risk, especially for small children. They said that a 51-piece doctor’s playset, which was sold on Wish, had at least 20 choking hazards. The product, which is aimed at babies and toddlers, was completely inappropriate. “Most of the toys in the set broke into small and dangerous parts far too easily, including play scissors and a notepad which revealed sharp points." The investigation encouraged the online stores to remove the 12 toys from their marketplaces. Sue Davies of Which? said: "Many parents will be appalled by our research which has revealed that some toys bought from online marketplaces are failing to meet safety standards and could pose a serious safety risk to children playing with them." All four marketplaces have apologised and vowed that they will do more to improve customer safety, especially in products aimed at young children and babies.