Another popular "safe" toy has generated concern and parent warnings for posing dangerous risks to both young children and household pets. Called "Water Balz," they appear to be brightly colored marbles. However, their status as a defective product comes from their super absorbency ability.

This feature allows them to expand from marble-size to racquetball-size when immersed in water. Pediatricians throughout the nation including Pennsylvania are becoming very concerned should a child or pet swallow the marble-sized ball. This toy, with its water-absorbing polymer construction, can double in size in a mere couple of hours. Left unattended it will grow more over time, possibly creating grave danger if not treated promptly.

Infants and young children constantly put things in their mouths to explore item characteristics, often swallowing a variety of small objects. In most cases, these "curiosity swallowings" cause no health problems, passing through their little stomachs and intestines without incident. Unfortunately, this toy starts as a small, interesting object, but can swell to a size that cannot pass through small digestive tracts.

For example, the medical journal Pediatrics reported an incident where an infant swallowed the pre-wet small ball. By the time the formerly one-inch diameter object reached her digestive tract, it expanded and blocked the infant's intestines. The infant's dire condition required surgical procedures to remove the blockage.

As all parents of very small children are aware, no amount of diligence in childproofing a home or monitoring of activities can prevent some swallowing of small objects. However, each year, many thousands of young children become hospital patients after mistaking some of these objects for candy or treats.

Just consider the case of popular, so-called "button batteries," used in many electronics. Over 60,000 children have ingested these small batteries in the past 20 years, often requiring the child's hospitalization and surgery. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission constantly monitors potential hazards posed by toys and everyday products, trying to minimize these incidents.

How do you view toys like this, beyond their obvious enlarging ability? Should toys like this ever reach the market? How can the government, parents or the medical profession better control hazards with these toys?

Source: The New York Times, "Expanding Ball Toy Poses Hazard to Children and Pets," By Anahad O'Connor, Sept. 17, 2012