Are squishy toys safe? Viral trend raises health concerns for tri-state parents
News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum ordered an air quality detector online to find out what was inside the blobs - and right from the very first test, the findings were unsettling.
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Squishy toys have been an obsession for many kids across the tri-state area, but after a viral Instagram video showed elevated formaldehyde readings inside the toys, parents flooded the Turn To Tara team with questions.
Our senior reporter Tara Rosenblum ordered an air quality detector online to find out what was inside the blobs - and right from the very first test, the findings were unsettling.
It read "excessive gas concentration."
Rosenblum posted the video to Instagram, and it struck a nerve with parents all across the tri-state.
Hundreds messaged her with concerns and requests to do a follow-up because it wasn’t just one toy.
The Turn To Tara team checked out multiple squishy toys from several brands - and each test showed elevated formaldehyde readings on the detector.
Rosenblum took the findings straight to a pediatrician.
"Parents should be very concerned about stuff like that," said Dr. Gilbert Herzberg, from White Plains Physician Associates. "Anything, anything that's potentially toxic, should be avoided."
Herzberg says News 12's findings, while not a lab test, should still give parents pause.
He is urging families to think twice about loading up on the viral squishy toys.
Consumer Reports tested several popular squishy toys last year and found one had a pH level as acidic as lemon juice.
There’s also another growing concern: a viral trend of kids microwaving them.
"They're made of something called polyurethane foam," says Herzberg. "When you heat them up, like in a microwave, they can transform the chemical bonds within them and create substances that are toxic."
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