Slinky Dog, Bert and Pooh Make Group’s Worst-Toys List

Toys based on “Sesame Street’s” Bert, Walt Disney Co.’s Slinky Dog from “Toy Story” and Winnie-the-Pooh have made a consumer group’s list of 10 worst toys.

The annual list, which cites hazards that can be posed to children by even the most seemingly benign playthings, is compiled by Boston lawyer Ed Swartz, who heads World Against Toys Causing Harm Inc., or WATCH.

Topping the list of dangerous toys was Disney’s Slinky Dog Pull Toy, made by James Industries Inc. of Hollidaysburg, Pa. The toy’s body contains a plastic coil that WATCH said could be stretched to 8 1/2 feet in length. The toy also has a 21-inch string. Both elements create the potential for strangulation should a child put the slinky around his or her neck, WATCH said.

James Industries referred calls seeking comment to the Toy Manufacturers of America, the New York-based trade group that represents 290 producers and importers of toys in the United States.

Perhaps among the most surprising toys to make the list are the Pull Back N’Go Jet Plane, made by Tyco Toys and piloted by Bert of Bert and Ernie fame, and “Christopher Robin Gives Pooh a Party,” published by Dutton Children’s Books.

WATCH found the propeller on Bert’s molded plastic plane could be easily removed to expose a half-inch metal pin that could harm a child.

As for the A.A. Milne classic, this edition comes with a small pewter Winnie-the-Pooh charm attached to a 24-inch-long ribbon necklace. WATCH, noting that the charm could easily be swallowed, said the book contains no warnings, instructions or age recommendations.

Other toys on the list include Hasbro Inc.’s Star Wars Electronic Luke Skywalker Lightsaber and its Nerf Chainblazer & Perceptor Blaster toys. A Hasbro spokesman said: “I think a far better judge of these toys is the market. . . . These are very successful toys and we have had no reported safety concerns with either of them.”