Homeowners Insurance
Toy Injuries Down Over Past 10 Years but Up in Past 2 — What to Know
Each year, we spend time hunting down toys to entertain and delight our children, nieces, nephews and other kids in our lives. And they’re all fun and games … until someone gets hurt.
Not all toys are built with the same goals and/or safety mechanisms, and they can cause injuries. The good news: The latest ValuePenguin study found the number of toy injuries treated in emergency departments dropped 26.4% over the past 10 years. The not-so-good news: These injuries have increased in the past two.
We looked at the most common toy injuries and how consumers can protect themselves.
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Key findings
- Toy injuries dropped 26.4% in the past 10 years. 180,953 toy injuries were treated in emergency departments in 2022 — the latest available data — down from 245,935 in 2013. Toy injuries plummeted 26.5% in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic but increased in the past two years.
- Scooters are the leading cause of toy injuries. 548,225 injuries from unpowered and unspecified scooters have been treated in emergency departments in the past 10 years. The next closest were balls (211,296) and toy vehicles (118,257).
- Among the five most common causes of toy injuries, balls saw the biggest jump between 2021 and 2022. 22,452 ball-related injuries were treated in 2022, up 18.9% from 18,890 in 2021.
- Children 4 and younger suffered more than a third of toy injuries in the past 10 years. 37.1% of toy injuries treated in emergency departments between 2013 and 2022 occurred in kids in this age range, followed by children 5 to 9 (23.5%) and 10 to 14 (12.8%).
Toy injuries down in past 10 years but up in past 2
Overall, toys today are seemingly safer for kids than a decade ago. In 2022 (the latest year for which data is available), 180,953 toy injuries were treated in U.S. emergency rooms. That’s down 26.4% from 245,935 in 2013.
Why? For starters, toys simply are getting safer. Divya Sangameshwar, ValuePenguin health insurance expert, says toys sold in the U.S. today must comply with more than 100 toy safety regulations, tests and requirements. These include requirements from the:
- Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA)
- Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
"There’s also better communication today around toy safety by toy manufacturers, retailers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)," Sangameshwar says. "This allows Americans to make more informed choices around the toys they buy for children and avoid potentially dangerous toys."
The largest year-over-year decrease in that period was 26.5% in 2020 — the first year of the pandemic. That year, people were largely quarantining rather than going on playdates or hanging with friends. People were also less likely to visit the emergency room during the pandemic, according to a 2022 American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) analysis.
A combination of both factors was likely, well … at play in influencing the dip. As the pandemic waned, the number of toy injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms crept back up, by 3.5% in 2021 and 6.2% in 2022.
Toy injuries, 2013 to 2022 (nationally)
Year | Total injuries | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 245,935 | N/A |
| 2014 | 240,658 | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 244,181 | 1.5% |
| 2016 | 239,794 | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 251,366 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | 224,704 | -10.6% |
| 2019 | 224,104 | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 164,715 | -26.5% |
| 2021 | 170,461 | 3.5% |
| 2022 | 180,953 | 6.2% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database. Note: The NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200.
The second biggest decrease in this decade was in 2018, when the number of toy injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms declined by 10.6%. That just so happened to be a year that toy safety standards enacted by Congress were updated.
Other reasons for the 10-year decrease in toy injuries? We’ll talk about injuries by age later, but the 4-and-under population has the highest rate of injuries. So the fact that the 4-and-under population — via the Kids Count Data Center — dropped by more than 1.3 million between 2013 and 2022 likely contributed, too.
Also, with kids’ screen use up significantly, they spend less time on other more physically dangerous toys, such as scooters. (We’ll save the potentially mentally dangerous aspects of video games for another time.)
If someone sustains a toy injury on your property, will homeowners insurance cover you?
Sangameshwar says homeowners and renters insurance policies generally provide liability coverage for any injuries on your property, including toy injuries. However, that only applies to guests and visitors — not the homeowner, renter or residents.
Be sure to review the terms and conditions of your policy to determine how much liability coverage you have and whether your policy covers toy injuries. You should also understand how toy injuries may be perceived by your insurer. It’s possible your insurance policy could exclude specific situations. Additional coverage may be necessary to make sure you’re protected.
Scooters leading cause of toy injuries
What could go wrong when you put a kid atop a small footboard attached to a couple of wheels? A lot, apparently. Scooters are the leading cause of toy injuries between 2013 and 2022. Of the 2,186,871 total toy-related emergency department visits in the past 10 years, scooters accounted for 548,225 of them.
What kind of scooters? That’s a bit more difficult to determine because of how the NEISS has categorized scooters in the past. Before 2020, the NEISS used the same code for powered and unknown-if-powered scooters. Then in 2020, the NEISS created separate codes to provide more insight into the types of scooters linked to toy injuries. So that decade-long tally of 548,225 includes:
- 350,921 nonpowered or unknown-if-powered scooter injuries (from 2013 to 2019)
- 172,995 unspecified scooter injuries (from 2020 to 2022)
- 24,309 nonpowered scooter injuries (from 2020 to 2022)
Powered scooters are classified as sports and recreation equipment, not as toys. So injuries linked to powered scooters aren’t included in this count. Also, again, these numbers only include injuries that resulted in emergency room visits — not all injuries.
After scooters, balls bounce in at No. 2 as the cause of 211,296 emergency room visits in the past decade. They’re followed by toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) (118,257), building sets (90,879) and flying discs and boomerangs (80,772).
So are these the five most dangerous toys? It’s hard to say since we’re looking at the raw numbers of injuries treated in emergency departments. The most popular toys may rack up more injuries based on odds alone. It’s up to parents to decide if a chemistry set (with the lowest reported number of injuries) is a safer bet for their child than a basketball.
Toy injuries, 2013 to 2022 (by product)
Rank | Product | Total injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 548,225 |
| 2 | Balls, other or not specified | 211,296 |
| 3 | Toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) | 118,257 |
| 4 | Building sets | 90,879 |
| 5 | Flying discs and boomerangs | 80,772 |
| 6 | Games or game parts (excluding marbles and computer games) | 63,766 |
| 7 | Dolls, plush toys and action figures | 57,853 |
| 8 | Toy boxes or chests | 46,424 |
| 9 | Tricycles | 41,616 |
| 10 | Balloons (toy) | 39,092 |
| 11 | Wagons (children’s) | 38,102 |
| 12 | Crayons or chalk | 34,964 |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the NEISS database. Notes: The NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200. The NEISS updated its scooter product codes in 2020, but we merged the various ones here. This list doesn’t include generic categories such as not-specified and not-elsewhere-classified toys.
Among most common toy injuries, balls see biggest jump between 2021 and 2022
While some toys have seen a decrease in related injuries lately, others have become the source of more injuries.
Take balls, for example. Between 2021 and 2022, ball-related injuries flew upward by 18.9%. Why the increase? It’s likely due to life normalizing amid the pandemic and people returning to activities like playdates and sports where they may be more likely to play with balls. Between 2019 and 2020 (the first year of the pandemic), there was a major drop in ball injuries — from 23,150 to 15,310. Then there was a significant increase between 2020 and 2021 as people came out of isolation — from 15,310 (the lowest of any year in the decade) to 18,890. Then 2021 to 2022 saw that 18.9% jump — from 18,890 to 22,452.
Other top-five toy injuries that increased between 2021 and 2022 included unpowered or unspecified scooters at 10.1% and flying discs and boomerangs at 7.6%.
Two of the top five most common toy-related injuries saw a decrease during this time:
- Building sets (9.9%)
- Toy vehicles, excluding riding toys (9.3%)
Again, this is likely related to the pandemic, as these toys lend themselves more to solitary play.
Changes in toy injuries between 2021 and 2022 among leading causes
Rank | Product | Change in injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balls, other or not specified | 18.9% |
| 2 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 10.1% |
| 3 | Flying discs and boomerangs | 7.6% |
| 4 | Toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) | -9.3% |
| 5 | Building sets | -9.9% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the NEISS database. Notes: The NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200. This looks at the five leading causes of toy injuries between 2013 and 2022.
Toy injuries most common among kids 4 and younger
It’s probably not a big surprise that the younger kids are, the more likely they are to be injured by toys. As they age, most kids learn not to put small objects in their mouths that can be choking hazards. They can read labels on the proper ways to use various toys and any warnings, and they generally become better coordinated.
While older people get injured by toys, too, the vast majority of toy-related injuries treated in emergency departments — 73.4% — involve kids 14 and younger. And 37.1% involve children 4 and younger. That’s followed by kids 5 to 9 (23.5%) and 10 to 14 (12.8%).
After that, rates plummet sharply. But in the last decade, there were still 11,088 toy-related injuries among those 85 and older, accounting for 0.5% of the total.
Toy injuries by age, 2013 to 2022
Age | Total injuries | Percentage of injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | 811,975 | 37.1% |
| 5 to 9 | 513,536 | 23.5% |
| 10 to 14 | 279,715 | 12.8% |
| 15 to 19 | 83,639 | 3.8% |
| 25 to 29 | 77,962 | 3.6% |
| 30 to 34 | 75,828 | 3.5% |
| 20 to 24 | 71,567 | 3.3% |
| 35 to 39 | 55,070 | 2.5% |
| 40 to 44 | 41,034 | 1.9% |
| 45 to 49 | 32,135 | 1.5% |
| 50 to 54 | 31,471 | 1.4% |
| 55 to 59 | 26,313 | 1.2% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the NEISS database. Note: The NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200.
Most common toy injury by age
The types of toy injuries also vary by age. While building sets are only the most common toy injury for two ages in the past decade — younger than 1 (2,757 injuries treated in emergency departments) and 3 (16,675) — they’re still responsible for a significant number of injuries with other younger ages as well:
- 1: 5,301
- 2: 11,405
- 4: 14,995
- 5: 10,130
- 6: 6,100
Toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) are the most common toy injuries for 1- and 2-year-olds — with 12,710 and 14,998 related injuries in the past decade, respectively. After age 3, though, it’s scooters (unpowered or unspecified) all the way, ringing in as the top source of emergency room visits for children ages 4 to 14.
Again, the most common toy injuries by age are likely due in large part to how popular toys are with various age groups (e.g., the younger-than-1 set likely isn’t going to be riding many scooters). But the numbers still provide good information for parents and others buying toys for children.
Most common toy injury by age, 2013 to 2022
Age | Most common toy injury | Total injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Younger than 1 | Building sets | 2,757 |
| 1 | Toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) | 12,710 |
| 2 | Toy vehicles (excluding riding toys) | 14,998 |
| 3 | Building sets | 16,675 |
| 4 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 19,362 |
| 5 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 25,789 |
| 6 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 32,468 |
| 7 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 37,139 |
| 8 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 40,016 |
| 9 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 41,157 |
| 10 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 45,063 |
| 11 | Scooters, unpowered or unspecified | 41,445 |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the NEISS database. Notes: The NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200. The NEISS updated its scooter product codes in 2020, but we merged the various ones here.
5 things to do when your child is hurt by a toy
Of course, the first thing you should do when your child is hurt by a toy is to seek medical care as necessary. Beyond that, however, here are some things to consider, via Sangameshwar:
- Know your networks: When your child is injured on your property, your health insurance will cover the cost of their medical care. However, it can become a very expensive injury if you take your child to an out-of-network ER or urgent care. That means it’s important to make sure you have a list of in-network locations ready.
- Rethink your ride: You may want to reconsider taking an ambulance if the emergency isn’t dire or life-threatening. You can be charged for using one for a nonemergency scenario, and you can’t control which ER the ambulance will take your child to.
- Investigate your insurance options: If you have the budget, investigate a health plan with a lower deductible and supplementary insurance for accidents, injuries and hospitalizations, which will cover costs that your health insurance won’t cover. This could protect you financially from a huge medical bill from a toy injury.
- Be prepared: If a guest to your home is injured by a toy you gave them as a gift or by a toy at your property, you may be liable. Make sure you do an in-depth review of your homeowners policy and its exclusions and discuss them with your insurer. You may also want to look into getting additional coverage to make sure you’re protected against lawsuits and paying out of pocket for medical costs.
- Take action: If your child is injured by a defective toy, be sure to report it. You can do so online at SaferProducts.gov or by calling CPSC’s toll-free hotline at 800-638-2772.
Methodology
ValuePenguin researchers analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) — available through the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — to find the number of toy-related injuries treated in emergency departments.
Researchers examined various periods between 2013 and 2022, breaking down the data by year, gender, product type and age.
Note that the NEISS doesn’t include specific breakdowns in a given period when the estimate is less than 1,200.