Over 7 million “Baby Shark” toys have been recalled this week after several reports of children suffering from impalement injuries.
On Thursday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Zuru Toys was recalling 7.5 million “Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys (full-size) and Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys (mini-size)” due to issues related to children slipping and falling or sitting on the “hard plastic top fin of the shark, posing risks of impalement, lacerations and punctures.”
The recall comes after one parent reported issues with the specific Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toy on the SaferProducts.gov website. In September 2022, the parent reported that their 19-month-old child was playing with the toy in the bathtub and slipped and fell onto the hard plastic fin “causing a cut and trauma to his anus.”
“My son is terrified of diaper changes and baths now due to his injury! This was very traumatic for him and it shouldn’t happen to anyone else’s children,” the incident report said.
According to the CPSC, the recalled full-sized toys have a plastic fin with grooves on each side that measures about 7 inches. The toys were sold in three colors and came in individual packages or packages of three. The mini-sized toys that were recalled have similar features, but do not sing when placed in water.
“They have a hard plastic top fin, measure about 4-inches from nose to tail and were sold in three colors: yellow, pink and blue. They were sold individually, in packs of two or three, and as part of a Baby Shark Music Water Park playset,” the CPSC said.
CPSC also said that there have been at least 12 reports of children suffering from impalement injuries from the full-sized recalled toys. Nine of the 12 incidents have resulted in children receiving stitches or other medical attention. The CPSC added that there have been no reports of injuries from the recalled mini-sized toys.
In a press release announcing the recall, Zuru Toys said consumers who purchased the products should immediately stop using them and contact the company for a refund.
“Consumers should disable the tail fin (by cutting it on the full-size bath toy or by bending it on the mini-size bath toy), mark the body of the shark bath toy with the word ‘recalled’ and the unique code provided during registration for the recall, then upload a photo of the product, showing it is disabled and marked, at https://www.recallrtr.com/bathshark,” the company wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Zuru Toys via its website for further comment.
