A new look at yo-yo balls

Consumer Reports has previously reported on the hazards of yo-yo balls — you know, those squishy, usually water-filled, toys with an elastic cord that can be used like a conventional yo-yo.  But when they are swung around like a lasso, they can wrap around a child’s neck and strangle him or her.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received more than 400 complaints about yo-yo balls with; 16 involved cases where the injured person lost consciousness.

Yo-yo balls are banned in several countries including Canada and the UK, as well as in the State of Illinois.  We, too, think they should be banned. The CPSC does not. It studied the toys and concluded in 2003 that they presented "a low but potential risk of strangulation" and did not meet congressionally mandated standards for a product recall.

But recently, a 5-year old Bellevue, WA boy nearly strangled to death when the cord from his yo-yo ball got tightly wrapped around his neck.  According to MSNBC.com and other news reports, the boy’s fast-thinking mother was barely able to break the cord to save her son’s life.  Follow-up reports said the CPSC was going to take another look at yo-yo balls. Could the agency be considering reversing itself after denying a request to ban yo-yo balls?  Unfortunately not. "We are not reopening decision-making on water yo-yo balls," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese, adding the agency was simply conducting a routine investigation of a specific incident.

In fact, Vallese subsequently noted, the latest data on yo-yo balls indicate that the problems may be declining. For the first 10 months of 2006, the agency received only seven complaints, of which four were about the smell. For all of 2003, the agency received 346 complaints. "With these number of incidents, you can see it's no longer the popular toy it once was," Vallese said.

We think retailers should get some of the credit for that, since many are no longer carrying the controversial toy. And not to be overlooked is Lisa Lipin, the Illinois mother who's been aggressively waging a war on the toy since 2003 when a ball wrapped around her then 5-year-old son's neck and nearly strangled him. Her efforts persuaded her home state to ban the toy.

In contrast to regulation, the CPSC relies heavily on voluntary industry standards to reduce product hazards.  In the case of yo-yo balls, the CPSC is relying on ASTM-International, a leading voluntary standards setting organization, to develop a safety standard on yo-yo balls.  That standard is in the works and is likely to limit the maximum elongation of yo-yo ball cords during fast rotation to 50 centimeters — twice the circumference of small 3-year-old’s neck. If the standard is approved, and all manufacturers comply with the requirements, yo-yo balls may be safer in the future.   Until then, we think parents should not buy yo-yo balls.

One additional safety concern:  Some designs of yo-yo balls contain flashing lights that are powered by button cell batteries. In our last tests of these toys, we found that the batteries could fall out of the yo-yo ball far too easily. As a small part, they could become a choking hazard, or worse.  Button cell batteries can eat through the esophagus or stomach wall. If ingested, they may require surgical removal. 

The bottom line, in other words, is to stay away from yo-yo balls