HOUSTON – A U.S. government agency has launched an investigation into the popular fidget spinner toys.
“He takes it to bed with him and he wakes up with the thing in his hand, so it’s like he’s got it all the time,” said Ian Thacker.
Thacker was talking about his 10-year-old grandson, Jake Sheather.
“I can do it whenever, I guess, and they’re just fun,” said Jake.
They’re the latest craze, but now fidget spinners are at the center of an investigation by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
An incident here in the Houston area sparked the investigation.
“I was very concerned about it. I noticed that he actually had a part come off the other day. The finger holder. I thought, ‘Yeah. That could happen to anybody. It’s a bad thing,'” said Thacker.
On May 13, a 10-year-old girl swallowed a piece of the popular toy and it became lodged in her throat. The girl had surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in the Woodlands and she is recovering.
“It’s obviously a bit of a shock, but I guess anything that becomes a craze, always then gets mass-produced and sometimes the quality then is not so good,” said Jake’s mother, Deborah Sheather.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed it’s looking into fidget spinners because of the local incident and another one in Oregon.
It sent Channel 2 News a statement that read, “We advise parents to keep these away from young children, because they can choke on small parts. Warn older children not to put fidget spinners in their mouths. We urge consumers to report any incidents with this product to CPSC at www.SaferProducts.gov.”
“If any parts fall out, don’t put it in your mouth. And get a new one,” said Jake.
The family of the victim didn’t have a comment on the investigation.
