A major retailer will no longer sell children's water bead products. Getty Images
Amid growing concerns about the safety of toys, three major domestic retailers have voluntarily agreed to stop selling water beads marketed to children.
Amazon, Walmart, and Target have all removed products marketed to children from their physical and virtual shelves. Products marketed to adults will still be available for purchase.
Water beads are super-absorbent spheres that grow several times their original size when exposed to water. They can be used to water plants, but they are also sold as toys and, in some cases, as learning aids.
However, some infants swallow the beads, which causes them to expand inside their bodies, sometimes up to 100 times their original size. This can pose serious health risks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it “can cause severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, intestinal obstruction, life-threatening injuries, and surgery may be required to remove the water beads.” and warned parents to keep them away from small children. Emergency departments receive thousands of water bead-related visits each year.
Last month, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D.N.J.) introduced a bill that would ban the sale of products to children.
Amazon has updated its policies to remove products that refer to children. Include images of children with your product. Or describe the product as a toy, arts and crafts object, or “sensory play” object.
Walmart and Target have similar initiatives. Walmart announced it would ban the sale of water beads sold to children under 9, while Target announced it would stop selling products sold to children 12 and under.
Some listings and products have already been removed. Other items will be removed from shelves next week.
The ban comes due to the popularity of one of this season's most popular toys, “gel blaster” guns that shoot water beads, among children.
