Chubby Edublocks blocks, stacking toys or pull toys

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Hurt, no treatment

   Made Jan 6, 2013 · , sent to the company Jan 24, 2013 · , published by CPSC Feb 7, 2013

   The product, in the report: Product Description From the Manufacturer Chubby, easy to grip, colorful, flexible interconnecting building blocks made flexible and safe. Six bright colors and assorted shapes for near limitless building combinations. Made pliable to resist cracking if stepped on. Developmental qualities include Gross Motor Skills, Socialization, Building Logic, Reasoning, Color Matching and Hane-Eye Coordination. Basic size: 3 1/2” x 3 1/2” x 3”. Product Description Chubby, easy to grip, colorful, flexible interconnecting building blocks made flexible and safe! Six bright colors and assorted shapes for near limitless building combinations. Made pliable to resist cracking if stepped on. Developmental qualities include Gross Motor Skills, Socialization, Building Logic, Reasoning, Color Matching and Hand-Eye Coordination. Basic size: 3 1/2” x 3 1/2” x 3”.

   Edushape Ltd’s Chubby EduBlocks are extremely unsafe for the young age group they are marketed toward, and I feel their current availability to children as young as 6 months needs to be swiftly addressed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) before any children become ill or die after choking on or swallowing the foam that the blocks are made from. This is a seriously dangerous toy when used by the age group it is designed for!

   The Edushape Ltd’s Chubby EduBlocks are multi-color, larger-size, stacking foam blocks made in China that the manufacturer recommends as a safe toy for children 6 months and up. We received the Chubby EduBlocks as a Christmas gift for my 17 month old daughter and we had this toy in our home for a little over a week and a half before she chewed off the tip of a block and ingested an undetermined amount of the smelly colored foam yesterday. This incident happened in less than 5 minutes, and occurred while I was in the room with her.

   She was sitting on the couch, playing with one red Chubby EduBlock, and I turned my back on her briefly to put a DVD on the TV for her. While I put the movie on, she proceeded to chew off several pieces of varying sizes of the foam block tip before I understood what was occurring. I have documented in a separate photograph the size of some of the red foam pieces I removed from her mouth and found scattered in her lap, but several of the chewed-off foam pieces were about half of an inch in length, certainly large enough for a younger child to choke on. My daughter thankfully did not choke on the foam, but I believe she ingested one or several of the small foam pieces before I identified their source and was able to clear her mouth of foam and take the toy away from her.

   Generally speaking, we exercise much caution before introducing a new toy to our beloved baby, and this toy seemed to be safe enough at first glance since the blocks are soft and are marketed as both educational and non-toxic. I trusted that ASTM safety standards had been considered and I also assumed that the foam had been tested during manufacturing and was strong enough not to crumble or break into bits in a child’s hand or mouth. In retrospect, I see I should have done more research before trusting my daughter with an Edushape toy, since many may recognize the Edushape Ltd. name as the same one that also distributed the 18,000 units of “Mini Stars Building Sets” that had to be recalled in July of 2011 because of similar choking hazards. I additionally have read that 40 units of Snap Beads distributed by Edushape in 2009 were also recalled by the Chinese manufacturer, Xiamen Xinlu Machinery Co., Ltd.

   I see now that ANY young child with teeth can easily chew off and either choke on or ingest the foam tip from an Edushape Chubby EduBlock, and I am astounded that this product was ever considered “safe” by anyone in the industry in the first place! ...Especially given this company’s poor track record with recalled toys! On top of the severe choking and ingestion hazard the foam poses, the blocks also have a distinctly chemical smell. Exactly what chemicals are in this foam product now that my 25lb daughter is at work digesting them? I recommend the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigate with serious scrutiny any and all materials data Edushape Ltd and their Chinese manufacturer can provide, because these blocks stink badly of chemicals, and they were ingested very quickly by my very young daughter.

   Yesterday after ingesting the foam, the rest of our day proceeded rather uneventfully, although I was aware that I needed to watch my daughter for any unusual symptoms should we require a trip to the ER. She played normally during the day, and she went to bed fine at night, so I thought we were in the clear --- until she woke up screaming and crying at 10:30pm with extremely painful gas, which is an experience that is uncharacteristic of her. After crying hysterically and shrieking in pain for about 20 minutes in my arms, she fell back to sleep and she slept for the rest of the duration of the night. She has yet to pass a stool, 24 hours now after ingesting the Edushape Ltd’s Chubby EduBlock foam, but I tentatively think it will be unnecessary to have her examined by her pediatrician since she has been fine all day. I do plan to keep a close watch on her for any further symptoms of intestinal and bowel obstruction, and will obviously have her cared for immediately if she has any issues.

   Please see to it that the safety of the Edushape Ltd’s Chubby EduBlock is immediately reevaluated, and please also do it before any children die or require intestinal surgery from using this toy. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE TOY, and after having had the experience of having my child ingest the foam, I believe another product recall may be necessary for Edushape Ltd.

   Thank you for protecting the lives of children with your expedited attention to this matter.

   Kind Regards,

   Model

   Cat No. 845036. Number stamped on box is 043210 86264WC

   UPC

   7290012679612

   Bought from

   amazon.com

   Bought

   Dec 5, 2012, about then

   Where

   Winooski, Vermont: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 1, Female

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Child

   As this report names them

   Brand Chubby Edublocks, made or sold by Edushape ltd

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources