Is it safe?
Official recalls, fakes and the trends worth a word at tea time. Straight answers, no scaremongering.
Toys
Is your child's toy on the recall list?
Search every official UK toy safety alert since 2021 by name, brand, model or barcode. 759 alerts and counting.
Are toys from Amazon, Temu and eBay safe?
Our analysis of every UK toy alert since 2021, plus 2026 lab tests that failed 90% of toys bought from marketplace sellers. And how to shop more safely.
The toy dangers worth knowing
- Button batteries. If one gets stuck, the NHS says it can burn through tissue in as little as two hours. Straight to A&E, no waiting for symptoms. 44 UK toy alerts.
- Small magnets. Two or more swallowed can pinch through the gut. 79 UK toy alerts, most for cheap sets sold online.
- Water beads. They grow up to 400 times their size inside the gut and don't show on X-rays. Keep them away from under-5s.
- Asbestos in sand toys. 39 alerts, all this year. What to do if you own one.
UK squishy recall tracker
23 official alerts so far, 7 of them for asbestos. Search by name or barcode. Updated from GOV.UK data.
UK slime recall tracker
14 official alerts since 2021, 11 of them for too much boron. Search by name or barcode.
Don't microwave squishies
A trend of heating gel squishies to make them softer has put kids in hospital with burns. The gel inside gets far hotter than the outside feels, and it can burst. Trading Standards in several areas have warned about it. Worth saying out loud at home. What to tell your kids, and burns first aid.
Online and trends
Parental controls before Christmas morning
Build your own checklist: pick their age, devices and apps, and get every setting to change in one list. Or go straight to a guide:
- Roblox. Link a parent account, lock down chat, cap spending, set screen time.
- Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Time limits, age ratings, eShop spending and GameChat approvals.
- Fortnite. What PEGI actually rates it, plus chat, V-Bucks and time limits.
- PlayStation 5 and Xbox. Playtime, spending limits and chat.
- iPad and iPhone (new iOS 27 controls) and Android (Family Link).
- Minecraft and Discord. Multiplayer, friends, chat and Discord's new age checks.
- TikTok and Snapchat. Teen defaults, Family Pairing and Family Centre.
- YouTube. YouTube Kids or a supervised account, and which suits which age.
What age for TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp?
13 for most apps today. From spring 2027 the UK plans to ban under-16s from Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X. What's covered and what isn't.
Chroming: what parents need to know
Inhaling aerosols or solvents to get high. It can kill on the first try. The signs, how to talk about it, and UK helplines.