Toy recalls, 2016–2026
The CPSC announced 83 toy recalls between January 1 and November 5, 2026. That is more than in the four years before it combined (81).
Last updated: November 9, 2026
We read every recall notice the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has published since 2016 and sorted the ones for toys by hazard, by where they were sold and by price. This page is what we found, how we counted, and the file to check our work.
- 83
- toy recalls in 2026, through November 5. In 2016 there were 13.
- 60%
- of the 2026 recalls (50 of 83) were for toys sold only on Amazon.
- $17.50
- median top price of a toy recalled in 2025–2026. 79% sold for $30 or less.
Recalls rose, and most now come from Amazon-only sellers
From 2016 to 2024 the CPSC announced between 5 and 21 toy recalls a year. In 2025 there were 32, and in 2026 there have been 83 so far. In 2016, 1 of 13 recalled toys was sold only on Amazon. In 2026 it is 50 of 83.
* January 1 to November 5, 2026. Source: our analysis of CPSC recall notices.
Show the numbers
| Year | Toy recalls | Sold only on Amazon | Sold elsewhere too |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 1 | 12 |
| 2017 | 15 | 1 | 14 |
| 2018 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2 | 8 |
| 2022 | 21 | 4 | 17 |
| 2023 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| 2024 | 16 | 5 | 11 |
| 2025 | 32 | 14 | 18 |
| 2026* | 83 | 50 | 33 |
Of the 2026 notices that name a country of manufacture, 99% name China. And 86% of the 2026 notices say the toy violated a mandatory federal standard or ban, compared with none of the 13 notices in 2016. In 2025 and 2026 together, the recalls covered about 3.2 million toys.
Batteries and magnets joined choking as the main hazards
From 2016 to 2019, 72% of toy recall notices named a choking or small-parts hazard. In 2025 and 2026 that share fell to 41%, while 25% named button or coin batteries a child could swallow and 22% named magnets. A notice can name more than one hazard.
Source: our analysis of CPSC recall notices.
Show the numbers
| Hazard named in the notice | 2016–2019 | 2025–2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Choking, small parts | 72.3% (34 of 47) | 40.9% (47 of 115) |
| Button or coin battery | 2.1% (1 of 47) | 25.2% (29 of 115) |
| Magnets | 0% (0 of 47) | 21.7% (25 of 115) |
Most recalled toys cost less than $30
104 of the 115 toy recall notices from 2025 and 2026 state a price. Taking the top of each stated price range, the median is $17.50. 79% of those toys sold for $30 or less, and 7% for more than $100.
What these numbers don't show
- They count notices, not danger. More recalls can mean more unsafe toys, more enforcement, or both. The CPSC's attention to marketplace sellers has grown over this period, and this data can't separate the two.
- They say nothing about toys that were not recalled. A recall for one model is not a finding about a brand or a store.
- Our count is conservative. We include a notice only when its title or product name says it is a toy, so some children's products that work as toys are left out.
- Recalls differ in size. One 2026 notice covers 276 toys and another covers 276,000. Counting notices treats them the same.
To check a toy you own, search the CPSC's recall list at cpsc.gov/Recalls. For questions about a child's safety, talk to your pediatrician.
How we counted
- Source. The CPSC's public recall database, retrieved on November 9, 2026: all 3,440 notices dated January 1, 2016 to November 5, 2026.
- What counts as a toy. A notice whose title or product name names a children's product and a toy term (toy, doll, puzzle, rattle, teether, playset, blocks and similar). That gives 226 notices. Pet toys are excluded.
- Hazard. Read from the CPSC's hazard sentence and the title. A notice can fall under more than one.
- Sold only on Amazon. The notice's "sold at" sentence names Amazon, names no other retailer we track, and mentions no physical stores.
- Price. The upper figure of the price or price range in the notice.
- Who did the work. We wrote a script to classify the notices and read samples of its output by hand. The classification is by keyword, so individual notices can be miscounted. If you find one, tell us and we will correct the page.
Get the data
Download all 226 toy recall notices (CSV), one row per notice, with the date, hazard, sales channel, country, units, price and a link to the CPSC notice.
To cite this page: One Mom's Moxie, "Toy recalls, 2016–2026," November 9, 2026, https://onemomsmoxie.com/research/toy-recalls-2026/
Sources
November 9, 2026: first published, with notices through November 5, 2026. How we research and correct pages: How we pick.