Dimethylformamide
Can harm an unborn child. In all 12 foam squishies Denmark tested, up to 73 times the tolerable level.
Squishy toys in the Horseshoe Hooray Store
Lab tests abroad keep finding industrial solvents in toys like these. US rules don't test for them, and no one has told parents whether the school has. We think the school will do the right thing once enough of us ask.
No one has signed yet.
What has been found in these toys
Benzene
Causes leukaemia. Four times the legal limit in a dumpling toy the UK recalled.
Toluene
Suspected of harming an unborn child. In Danish tests in 2018 and again in 2026.
Phthalates
Interfere with hormones. Up to 164 times the limit in squeeze toys Seoul tested.
What US toy rules check
- Checked:Lead and other heavy metals
- Checked:Certain phthalates
- Checked:Small parts
- Checked:Flammability
- Not checked:What a toy gives off into the air
China, where these toys are made, began requiring that test on 1 November 2026.
The US safety agency's staff fell from 546 to about 459. Last year 23 of 328 ports had its inspectors.
What the school and district have told parents
- Not checked:Where the store's toys come from
- Not checked:Whether anyone has checked them
Nothing so far, and that is easy to understand. A toy can be sold here without any of these tests, so everyone assumes someone else has looked.
A short letter from enough parents should be all it takes.
What the letter asks
Within ten school days, we ask the school to:
- Tell us who buys the store's toys and from which sellers.
- Tell us what lab test reports it holds for each squishy toy, and whether any covers what the toy gives off into the air. If it holds none, say so.
- Remove the foam ones now, and keep the rest of these toys off the shelf until those reports are in hand.
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Your name goes to the principal with the letter. This page shows only the count.
Whoever sent you this link will see that you signed.
The letter in full
Dear Principal Ali,
We are Mann parents and students. The Horseshoe Hooray Store stocks squishy toys: soft toys made to be squeezed in the hand, such as foam squishies, stress balls and gel-filled dumplings.
Denmark's environmental agency tested 12 foam squishies in 2018. All 12 gave off solvents above the level it considers tolerable for a child, and it advised families to discard them.
Sweden's chemicals agency tested 21 in 2019 and found all 21 a risk.
Gel-filled squeeze toys have failed too. In 2026 Austria's health agency judged all 23 it tested unsuitable for children, the UK recalled one for benzene, Seoul found problems in 5 of 13, and Cyprus withdrew 2 of 18.
We ask the school to do three things within ten school days:
- Tell us who buys the store's toys and from which sellers.
- Tell us what lab test reports it holds for each squishy toy, and whether any covers what the toy gives off into the air. If it holds none, say so.
- Remove the foam ones now, and keep the rest of these toys off the shelf until those reports are in hand.
The school's purchasing records are public, but we would prefer to hear this from you.