NATIONAL – ParentsTogether, a nonprofit parent advocacy group with more than 3 million members across the country, released the "2022 Dangerous Tech Toys Report,” a holiday gift guide that advises parents about the potential safety and privacy dangers of some of this season’s most popular tech gifts for kids. The report details the components of various tech toys for different age groups that are likely to be popular this holiday season, and gives parents advisories about the dangers these gifts pose, and how to better manage the risks. Risks include privacy issues, health concerns, addictiveness, exposure to inappropriate content, and exposure to predators.See the full report HERE: https://parents-together.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-ParentsTogether-Tech-Toys-Report.pdf“This guide isn’t a ‘what not to buy’ list. No toy or device that connects to the internet can be made completely safe because tech companies haven’t designed their products with children’s safety in mind. Instead, our goal is to help parents learn what dangers might be associated with certain toys and how to keep kids of all ages safer while they play.”

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The report identifies subscription services like YouTube Premium, Meta VR headsets, Amazon Fire Kids, interactive kids toys like walkie talkies, “smart” kitchen playsets, video cameras, and a bluetooth-linked karaoke machine, among other potential holiday gifts. Each gift on the list includes specific warnings as well as tips to protect your child.“As we approach the holiday season, parents are starting to think about what gifts to buy their children, and with kids spending so much time online between school and play, tech products are inevitably coming up,” said Shelby Knox, Campaigns Director at ParentsTogether. “We want to make sure that parents are equipped with the information they need to keep their kids safe and informed, as we’ve seen time and time again that we can’t trust huge tech companies that put profit before safety.”