Toy Injuries Most Common Among Youngest Americans, but Decreases Provide Optimism

The fast-approaching holiday season means two things for many: time with family and new toy purchases. In fact, toys generated $28.0 billion in retail sales in 2023, according to the Toy Association. But toys, like many things, can lead to injuries — and emergency department visits.

To understand these injuries, ValuePenguin researchers examined U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) data. We found toy injuries have declined in the past decade, despite recent increases.

Here’s what else we found.

Key findings

Toy injuries have increased in past 3 years

Toy injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments decreased by 23.3% over the past 10 years, but there’s been an 8.3% increase since 2020. In fact, injuries have increased three years in a row after declining three years in a row.

The early days of the pandemic saw the steepest decline. While 2019 saw 224,104 toy injuries, 2020 had 26.5% fewer at 164,715. This could be attributed to parents’ hesitancy to bring their children to emergency departments amid the pandemic — especially since toy sales saw continuous year-over-year increases from 2019 through 2022, per the Toy Association.

During the 10 years analyzed, there were two updates to the Toy Standard governed by the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). A few notable safety changes included:

Plus, Reese’s Law, which implemented a federal safety requirement around toys with button cell or coin batteries, was enacted in late 2022. (Notably, this law excluded toys for kids younger than 14 that met the preexisting Toy Standard.)

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (nationally)

Over the past 10 years, men (including boys) have accounted for the majority — nearly 60.0% — of toy injuries treated in emergency room visits. This is true even as men account for only 49.5% of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by sex)

Notably, just 3.6% of toy-related emergency room visits during the 10 years analyzed resulted in the child being admitted. This suggests that parents, for the most part, are erring on the side of caution.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by disposition)

This could be because the majority of toy-related injuries occur to the face and head — scary locations for an injury for any parent. (More on this later.)

Toy injuries and home insurance/health insurance

If someone is injured on your property, homeowners insurance and renters insurance will typically cover that injury, says Divya Sangameshwar, ValuePenguin home insurance expert. That’s because personal liability coverage is typically standard in policies.

There’s a big caveat: Liability coverage applies to guests rather than residents. That said, if you or your child are injured on someone else’s property, their personal liability coverage could apply. And your health insurance will likely still cover treatment costs, minus your deductible or coinsurance.

"If you’re planning to host parties that involve gift exchanges in your home, review the terms and conditions of your policy to determine how much liability coverage you have and what kind of injuries may be covered," Sangameshwar says. "Your insurance policy could exclude specific situations. It’s important to discuss your policy and its exclusions with your agent or insurer and look into additional coverage, like umbrella coverage, to make sure you’re protected."

Biggest toy injury culprit: Scooters

It’s important to clarify NEISS coding changes on scooters. Before 2020, the NEISS used the same code for powered and unknown-if-powered scooters, making them indistinguishable. In 2020, separate codes were created, reclassifying powered scooters as sports and recreation equipment. So our tally includes unknown-if-powered numbers from the early portion of our analyzed period.

After scooters, balls (211,400, or 9.9%) and toy vehicles (116,431, or 5.5%) saw the next highest numbers of ER visits. Given that these products involve a distinct lack of stability (via a wheel or the product shape), it makes sense why these toys would be major culprits.

To give a complete look over the past 10 years, we also included toys "not specified" or "not elsewhere classified" and similar product types.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by product)

We also looked at changes in ER toy visits over time.

The data shows some toys are becoming more dangerous. During the 10 years examined, toy guns with projectiles saw a 120.2% boost — the largest increase during this period and the only product to more than double. (Optometrists and attorneys are among the groups that often warn about toy gun injuries.)

Meanwhile, two other distinct products saw injury increases of more than 50.0%: costumes or masks and games or game parts — excluding marbles and computer games. Costumes or masks that block kids’ vision can result in falls and tumbles.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by product over time)

Children younger than 5 hurt most by toys, but kids seeing fewer injuries

The youngest age groups are most at risk for toy-related injuries. In fact, kids younger than 5 accounted for nearly 40.0% of toy injuries over the last decade — despite a slight decline in this population over the same period, via the Kids Count Data Center.

It makes sense that this age group would be susceptible to harm while playing with toys. After all, they’re still learning fine motor skills and have to be monitored closely during playtime.

As kids age, the risk of injury appears to dwindle. For example, kids ages 5 to 9 make up 23.0% of toy-related injuries, and that drops to 12.3% among those 10 to 14. This trend is nearly consistent through the oldest age group examined.

There’s encouraging data, however, when you look at toy injuries over time, especially among the youngest groups. While those younger than 5 only saw a 6.7% reduction in injuries from 2014 through 2023, those 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 had reductions of more than 33.0%.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by age over time among youngest Americans)

"This is a sign that there’s better communication around toy safety by toy manufacturers, retailers and the CPSA, allowing Americans to make more informed choices around the toys they buy for children and avoid potentially dangerous toys for their little ones," Sangameshwar says.

She attributes this progress to the 100-plus toy safety regulations, tests and requirements designed to protect children at play. She also cites another common theme at play.

"Of course, I can’t discount the impact of screens — more and more children are finding the enrichment and entertainment they need from mobile devices and prefer them over traditional toys," Sangameshwar says. "While screens aren’t entirely without danger, they’re devices that encourage sedentary play and fewer physical injuries."

Most commonly injured body parts: Face, head

Toy-related injuries are most likely to occur to the face (18.5%) or head (14.6%).

Combined, that’s about one-third of related injuries from 2014 through 2023. This aligns with falls being one of the common reasons behind head injuries in children.

Meanwhile, every other body part tracked accounted for less than 10.0% of total injuries.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by body part)

Most common diagnoses: Lacerations, contusions/abrasions

When kids get hurt by a toy, the most common injuries are cuts (accounting for 22.0% over the past decade) and scrapes or bruises (15.9%).

Cuts and scrapes were also the most common diagnoses in toy injuries nearly 30 years ago (in 1996), according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis of NEISS data.

Toy injuries, 2014 to 2023 (by diagnosis)

5 things to do when your child is hurt by a toy

It can be difficult to know what to do when your child is injured. Once you’ve made sure they get the proper care, here are five steps you can take to make sure a toy-related injury doesn’t take a toll on your finances: