NJ wins payment from company selling banned yo-yo balls

Remember the yo-yo ball -- an inexpensive toy made of questionable materials with a long rubbery cord and a ball filled with liquid? The dangers of the toy were brought to light by parents whose children were nearly killed by the product when the cord wrapped around their neck and couldn't be easily removed. Among them was Lisa Lipin of Skokie Illinois. She, along with other concerned parents, set up a website and began tireless efforts to get the product banned. States such as New Jersey, Illinois and New York banned the product and the standard setting group ASTM International included a performance requirement in the toy standard that wouldn't allow the long dangerous cords. That standard then became a mandatory standard through the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

Now a court in New Jersey has fined an Indiana company $67,000 for selling the product in New Jersey, despite that state's ban. Activists like Lipin hope it sends a message to anyone still selling the product -- stop!

An Update on YO-YO BALLS

In the early 2000s, the CPSC received hundreds of reports of cords attached to yo-yo water balls wrapping around children’s heads or necks.

One Chicago-area mom, Lisa Lipin, launched a campaign and website to get the products banned. They are banned in New York, New Jersey and Illinois. CPSC never took action against the product, although the Chairman at the time, Hal Stratton, indicated he would not let his children play with the toy. Since then the group setting voluntary standards for toys instituted a test that won't allow a string-length more than 20 inches (stretched), limiting the possibility of the cord wrapping around a child’s neck. Injuries have dropped dramatically. As of February 2009, this limit in the yo-yo ball’s cord length became a mandatory rule in the United States. CPSC recently put out a new statement, reminding parents to cut the cord off any of the older toys they might have or throw the toy away. KID urges parents not to allow children to use yo-yo balls with long cords and report it to CPSC if you see any for sale.