The CPSC has just announced the recall of 1.8 million toy dart gun playsets sold exclusively at Family Dollar Stores. The "Auto Fire" toy dart gun playsets caused the asphyxiation deaths of two children, a 9-year-old boy and a 10-year-old boy. Both children put the soft darts in their mouths and inhaled them into their throats. The suction cups caused the darts to get stuck and the children to stop breathing.
It's just horrifying. These two deaths must remind us that older kids, not just babies, put toys in their mouths. Please remind your children not to chew on toys!
The toy dart gun playsets come in two colors, an orange and yellow gun (pictured) and a blue and yellow gun. The darts have a small suction cup on one end. "Gordy Toy" for "Ages 8+" is printed on the packaging. The playsets were manufactured in China.
The importer, Henry Gordy International Inc. of Plainfield, NJ has refused to recall the deadly toys, so Family Dollar Stores and the CPSC are working together to conduct the recall. Family Dollar Stores will refund the purchase price of the Auto Fire Toy Dart Gun Playsets.
If you have this recall toy in your home, you should take it away from children immediately. Visit the CPSC website to read more information about this recall and to sign up for free email alerts for future toy recalls. Toys.about.com is also keeping a list of recent toy recalls with recall toy pictures.
I would like to hear what you think about toy recalls. Sound off here!
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Henry Gordy International shall be banned from my house and everyone should spread the word. If you make toys that kill children, you should do the right thing and put preventative measures, including recalls, in place. If not, then you should suffer the consequence of being banned. There are many other more responsible, and safer, toy manufacturers out there that will take our money.
I will be telling my children that any toy I see in their mouths will be taken away. No exceptions, no warnings. Their lives are too precious to negotiate. My hearts and prayers go out to these families.
Well, I don’t mean any harm but why would a 9/10 year old put it in their mouths? Where were the parents at? It’s so easy to blame the companies instead of taking personal blame for their actions.
You have to be kidding. A child that age should know that you don’t put something like that into your mouth. I keep tabs on what my child does, I don’t need the government to patrol my toy box. If I thought it was unsafe I took it away, have we come to the point where we have stopped thinking for our selves. Yes it is a tragic accident but in the same thought should I have had all trees cut down when my daughter fell out of one at a friends house and broke her arm. It could have been worse and I got lucky it was only an arm but and eight foot fall from any tree could have killed a 8 y/o.
And where were you when your kid fell out of the tree, Cheryl? As easily as that happened, it could well happen that a 9 and 10 year old could put the darts in their mouths. Anybody with kids knows that you can’t watch them 24/7. Accidents will happen. Unfortunately the one with the darts was fatal, but also unforseen.
I agree, though, that as it is now a real possibility that the toy could kill a child, it should be taken off the market. Maybe the boys pretended to be smoking or something. Who knows. So why take anymore chances with something that could have been prevented. I say: ban the toy.
I can’t believe Henry Gordy International Inc has refused to recall these deadly toys. I mean what are they waiting for? more such cases to reported? There must be a law in retail industry for proper recall procedures. Secondly, every toy imported into USA or made in USA must go through stringent quality and hazard check to ensure we dont end up getting another deadly toy in our house.
more than healthcare reform, we need a “Retail industry reform”. Retailers are just making money off this nonsense system
I guess some types of toys are more propense for children to have accidents than others. If this is the case of the Toy Dart Gun, it should be taken away from the market. But then again, what other items do we have in our home that might have the same effect? a pair of dice? little color spoons for babies? You name it. and should that be taken away too?
I am with Heather and Cheryl on this one! Where is the personal responsibility and why are kids this age putting these things in their mouths? I am sorry for what happened to them, it is a parent’s worse nightmare. But, honestly, this is an issue of common sense and education, not one of a national recall!
This is not the only company that makes toy darts with suction on the end, I don’t think that the toy should be banned from every child because of two unfortunate accidents. There are so many toys on the market that could choke a child, that is why they put age limits on toys. If you have a child that is prone to put things in there mouth, then dont buy them anything that could fit into their mouths. if anything, I don’t see a recall, just up the age limit to 10. or for some of you up it to 12 if you think your 8 or 9 year old child has to put things in there mouths. the product was not marketed for babies. Are we going to take everything off the market because of a few accidents. 2 out of millions, i guess no monopoly for 10 year olds because they may put the pieces in their mouth.. lets use common sense, if the toy was used as intended, and then it was harming kids, then I would agree, take it off the market, but as it stands, PARENTS, if your 9 or 10 yr olds put things in their mouth, don’t buy this product.
Toy recalls? When I think back to all the toys I played with as a kid, NONE of us kids were harmed by an outrageous number of toys that have since been recalled or were replaced by toys that have been recalled. It is totally rediculous that the government has to issue recalls to protect the children of parents that CANNOT PROPERLY WATCH OR TRAIN THEIR CHILDREN!!!!! What happened to PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY??????????
two kids put something in there mouth that they shouldn’t have and its the manufactures fault !you people are nuts!i taught my children up to not put stuff in there mouth that didn’t be long there !sound like poor child rearing to me!something should be done to there parents for neglecting to teach them some common sense. you can run and fall and break your neck you know!
The majority of recalled toys seem to have been manufactured in China, as was this particular dart gun…..even though a company such as Henry Gordy may be located in the USA, they import these toys from China, so the safest thing a responsible parent can do is simply check on the origin of manufacture. The Gordy company has had other toy recalls, as well, so it would probably be wise to never buy toys made by or imported by that company.
At age 9/10, they should be able to discriminate what is reasonable to put in their mouths and what not to put in their mouths. For sanitary reasons alone, it should be taught to them before this age. If we worried about this, we should also recall all the action figures like the star wars figures, the GI Joe figures which are small and likely to be swallowed and countless other dangerous toys. Parents should use some judgement in buying their kids toys if they don’t think their children can use them properly.
Since when does 2 out of 1,800,000 indicate that there is a problem with a toy.
We have more people die in car accidents, but we don’t recall all of the cars. We don’t recall electricity to our homes and offices.
While some things need to be recalled like medicines that happened 2 weeks ago, or toys with lead paint.
Accident happen and I feel bad for the parents of these children. My 9 year old knows better.
Where were the parents.. What would these kids have done if it was a real gun…
Take ownership of your responsibilities and your kids and stop blaming everyone else.
If you buy hot coffee it will be hot. If you spill it you are clumsy.
If you buy a lawn mower and stick your fingers underneath while the blades are going, you are stupid.
I’ll go one even better..
Since we cannot use our cell phones or text while in the car.
How about we remove the radio, the mirrors so you cannot put on makeup, bans magazines, newspapers and books, remove all of the drive through’s so you cannot easily eat while driveing, ban eating, ban talking to your passenger, ban talking to your kids in the back, ban reaching around to hand your kids something in the back.
In fact why don’t we just put a plastic bubble around the driver so they cannot hear anyone else in the car. Fix it so the car will not move unless both hands are on the wheel at all times.
Would this work… Government tries to protect us from ourselves, but the question is really.. Why?
I agree with gogeekgo.
uh, this is sad, but do they even make toy dart guns wtihout a suction cup? I was looking at the ones my boys have collected over the years and there are at least 5 different makers including the famous nerf guns and they all the darts look just like these. I think people forget accidents do happen. I mean how many kids chew on a pencil eraser or something. Someday one my choke but we don’t ban pencils. We tell kids not to chew on them, but even adults will chew on something once in a while. My nephew had a friend who got killed in a baseball accident and we didn’t ban baseballs. Where is common sense?
Every once in awhile , even in our well-controlled, regulated ad nauseum, highly civilized society, accidents. simply. happen.
We have come to believe that in every situation SOMEONE must be to blame and the self-perceived victims are ENTITLED to redress from whomever can be litigated or threatened into accepting responsibility. BOSH!
Where there is clear and obvious negligence, fine, ascribe blame and suitable consequences…but where one could reasonably expect the outsome was accidental, even if tragic, grieve and let it be.
Our kids’ low tolerance for frustration, need of drugs for relief of the teeniest pain, drive for immediate gratification and angry lashing out if thwarted are all made worse if not caused by such parental attitudes.
That being said, i also will not buy from that company….or many, many others doing “business” with China…for a whole variety of social, moral, and patriotic reasons.
My prayers and condolences to the parents! This is such a tragedy and they are suffering. Why criticize their parenting skills at a horrible time like this? It is not their fault or the two kids that are DEAD as a result. Parents cannot watch their kids 24/7 and kids will at any age place things in their mouth or do anything. I always thought that my completely normal son would stop at 3, then 5, 7…. he is 9 and I still catch him with something in his mouth ocassionally that should not be there. The dart guns and any toy that kills a child should be banned or have a HUGE Warning on the front of package stating: “Has Caused Death to Child”. One child killed is one too many!
I send my condolences to the family firstly, but I must say I do not agree with a recall. I must say I agree with GoGeekGo. However, I cannot in good conscience, blame the parents. Children will be children. I cannot count the number of times my mum told me not to climb trees, but I still did it. Perhaps I was just lucky.
I think that maybe the parents should have taken away the darty part and let children just play with the guns. Or have taken off the suction part if they new their kids liked to chew on them. I recall my mum taking away the tiny little barbie shoes when I was a girl. She knew I would pop them in my mouth so she took a precaution. If I had then swallowed the Barbie, it would have been my fault (to a degree naturally, I am talking about child-me).
Once again though, simply horrible. It is always tragic when little ones die. Heart breaking.