Assemblyman Bill Reilich (R,I,C-Greece) today joined his legislative colleagues from the Senate and Assembly by co-sponsoring legislation that would prohibit the sale, importation, manufacturing, or distribution of yo-yo waterballs in New York state.
New York is one of a growing number of states looking to ban this toy.
Yo-yo waterballs are liquid filled toys that are made with an elastic cord and a small finger loop at the end that allows a child to throw the ball like a yo-yo. The toy has caused lacerations, eye injuries and strangulation. In the Rochester suburb of Pittsford, the father of a five-year-old girl had to cut the cord from around his daughter’s neck after she was strangled.
Rather than wait for the legislature to act, Assemblyman Reilich is asking merchants who sell yo-yo waterballs to immediately pull the toys from their store shelves. “It is not a matter of if, but when these toys will cause serious injury to another child,” said Reilich.
Since 2002, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recorded 400 incidents involving yo-yo’s, 290 of which caused suffocation or strangulation. The New York State Consumer Protection Board has also issued warnings about the dangers of using the toy.
Reilich is asking businesses across the state to join the legislature in a bi-partisan effort to ban dangerous yo-yo waterballs from store shelves and keep our children safe.
“Yo-yo balls are a serious hazard to children,” Reilich said. “As a father and legislator, I know the importance of keeping these dangerous toys out of the hands of our children.”