NORFOLK, Va. — Ashley Haugen never knew that buying a birthday present for her daughter would change the trajectory of their lives.
She says in 2017, they bought water beads for their oldest daughter, Abigail, who was turning six. Abigail had seen water beads advertised online and was immediately enthralled by their color and ability to grow.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, when water beads are exposed to liquid, they can grow 100 times their original size.
Haugen says she and her husband researched the water beads online and never saw information that indicated they were dangerous. They decided not to let their kids Abigail and Kipley, who was 1-and-a-half at the time, play with the beads unattended.
“By July, when Kipley started projectile vomiting and woke up really sick, the water beads were the furthest thing from our mind,” Haugen says. “They did test after test and scan after scan, and they still couldn't figure out what was wrong.”
She says it took exploratory surgery to learn that Kipley had ingested water beads. Surviving surgery was just the beginning of her fight, Haugen says.
"In October of that year, she was diagnosed with a brain injury called toxic brain encephalopathy due to being exposed to chemicals in the water beads,” she says.
Now, Haugen is a fierce advocate and founder of “That Water Bead Lady”, a nonprofit that aims to protect other kids by warning families about the dangers water beads pose.
“She's like a resource for parents across the country who have encountered this problem who don't didn't know that there was a problem,” says Teresa Murray.
Teresa Murray is a consumer watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). For the past 38 years, the group has conducted a Trouble in Toyland report. It’s a heads-up about the toys with the greatest risk for kids.
This year, the Trouble in Toyland report focused on smart toys, water beads, and recalled toys.
“Some of the biggest threats in recent years are coming from different sources, such as counterfeit toys, fidget toys that violate safety standards, recalled toys still for sale and toys that invade children’s privacy,” she says.
Murray says the market for smart toys has been exploding in recent years.
"These days, I mean, they're stuffing, microphones, cameras, geolocators, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, into like, you know, teddy bears, and board games,” she says.
To discover what you’re comfortable with your child playing with, PIRG says parents should check to see:
- If it has a microphone
- If it has a camera
- If it connects to Wi-Fi
- If it connects to Bluetooth
- If it collects any personal information from your child or about your child, and that child is under 13 years old
- If it collects data on anyone of any age
- If there’s a privacy policy
- If it has an app
- If it allows your child to spend money
Without answering these questions for yourself, Murray says your child’s information is more vulnerable. She also advises people not to buy smart toys without talking to a child's parent first.
"Would you buy that child a pet snake without checking with the parents? And if the answer's no, then maybe don't buy a smart toy without talking to them," Murray says.
The report also warns against buying recalled toys.
“When there are products out there that have been tested and have been known to have killed people, or injured people or burned down houses — that's just such an unforced error, it just makes me crazy,” Murray says.
According to the 2023 Trouble in Toyland report, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund bought, paid for, and received five toys of the 17 toys that had been recalled this year. They bought toys from three online retailers.
They are:
- Silver Lining Cloud Activity Gym by Skip Hop, recalled Feb. 9, 2023. Purchased Oct. 6, 2023, through Facebook Marketplace.
- Calico Critters Animal Figures by Epoch Everlasting Play, recalled March 9, 2023. Purchased Oct. 14, 2023, through eBay.
- Basket with Balls by Monti Kids, recalled April 6, 2023. Purchased Oct. 2, 2023, through eBay.
- Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys by Zuru, recalled June 22, 2023. Purchased July 28, 2023, through eBay.
- Rainbow Road board book by Make Believe Ideas, recalled Sept. 21, 2023. Purchased Oct. 1, 2023, through Little Giant Kid
Murray says the best way to track down recalled toys is by checking the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall page.
On the list of recalls, and one that the organization is urging against, are the water beads that Haugen is trying to desperately get banned.
“I was alone for a lot of the experience of after product injury and I didn't want any other families to go through that,” she says. “I also believe that learning from each of these incidents is really important.”
At the end of last month, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. of New Jersey introduced legislation to ban water beads. Haugen was at the announcement, along with other consumer advocates.
“Every time I call home, and I'm traveling [advocating for families, Kipley asks,] 'Are the water beads banned yet?'" Haugen says. "I'm like, 'We're working on it.'"
