High Chair and Light-Up Toy Recalls: What Parents Should Check Now

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, recalled thousands of convertible high chairs sold at Walmart and Target that lack a required restraint, along with two light-up children’s products with easy-to-reach button batteries, a timely warning as families head into Halloween weekend and the holiday party season.

High chairs sold at Walmart and Target fail the federal standard

The largest of the children’s recalls covers about 3,332 Costway convertible high chairs, which can be converted into a child-size table and chair set. They were sold at Walmart and Target stores nationwide and on Costway.com from May 2023 through July 2026 for $84 to $100, in purple and white, red and white, blue and white, and brown and white.

According to the CPSC, the chairs violate the mandatory federal safety standard for high chairs because they do not have a passive restraint system, meaning a restraint that works without a caregiver buckling anything. Without it, a child can slip through the gap between the feeding tray and the seat and become trapped or fall. No injuries had been reported at the time of the recall, which carries recall number 27-040.

Parents should stop using the chairs immediately and contact Costway for a free replacement. The company, Goplus Corp., doing business as Costway, of Fontana, California, asks owners to provide a receipt or a photo of the chair and will send a prepaid return label, then ship a replacement once the recalled chair arrives. Costway can be reached at 844-242-1885 or recall@costway.com. The CPSC noted the chairs carry no tracking information, so owners may need to identify them by appearance.

Button batteries in light-up toys and costumes

The same day, the CPSC recalled about 6,533 BAMAMON LED projecting finger light toys and about 94 CIYTI Light-Up Princess Costumes because their button cell batteries are easy for children to reach. Both violate the mandatory federal toy standard. The agency warns that swallowed button batteries can cause internal chemical burns and death.

The costumes, sold on Amazon from February through June 2025 for $21 to $35, include a blue dress, a light-up crown and wand, and a remote control. The batteries sit in the crown, wand and remote. Owners are told to take the costumes away from children, write “RECALLED” on each piece in permanent marker, throw them away and email a photo to the seller for a full refund. No injuries were reported for either product.

Water beads hiding in squishy toys

Water beads are a second recurring hazard. On Oct. 22, the CPSC also warned consumers to stop using squishy toys distributed by Kaizou Group, including Rainbow Mystery Squishy Buns and Squeezy Dumpling toys, because of the risk of water bead ingestion. Earlier in the month, on Oct. 1, ABC Trading recalled about 37,000 Squishy Dumpling and Crazy Squib Ball toys, sold from April through June 2026 for 41 cents to $1.25, because the beads inside expand larger than the federal toy standard allows. If swallowed, expanded beads can cause choking, intestinal obstruction and death.

The trade publication ASI Central reported that the October recalls also covered Rainbow Mystery Squishy Bun toys from two other sellers, OKK Trading and ToyWorld168, and that the CPSC found the beads contained acrylamide, a chemical restricted under federal law.

A federal standard for water bead toys took effect March 12, 2026. It requires beads small enough to fit in the CPSC’s small-parts test cylinder to pass through a 5-millimeter gauge once fully expanded, caps extractable acrylamide and requires warning labels on toys and packaging. Products made after that date that do not comply cannot legally be sold in the United States.

Why party season raises the stakes

The timing of these recalls lines up with the busiest stretch of the year for toddler gatherings. Halloween falls on Saturday, Oct. 31, and light-up crowns, wands and finger lights are popular costume add-ons and trick-or-treat handouts. Inexpensive squishy toys, many priced under a dollar, are a common choice for goody bags at birthday parties and holiday events.

High chairs present a different risk. At first birthdays and family holiday meals, children often sit in a chair that is not their own, borrowed from a relative or bought secondhand. A recalled chair can stay in use long after a recall notice, especially one with no tracking label.

Several of the recalled products had little or no identifying marking. The CIYTI costumes carry the brand name only on the package, and the ABC Trading dumplings have no markings beyond a cartoon face. That puts more weight on checking packaging, order histories and product photos against the CPSC’s recall descriptions.

The Soft Play Social Take

For parents planning parties and playdates for children under 5, the lesson from this week is less about any single product than about where risky items enter a gathering. Hosts usually think carefully about the main equipment, such as the high chair, the play area and the cake table, but favors, costumes and borrowed gear often arrive with less scrutiny. Every product in this round of recalls was inexpensive, sold through mainstream stores or major online marketplaces, and in several cases unmarked.

The practical approach is to treat small, cheap items with the same care as big ones. Light-up toys for young children should have a battery compartment that cannot be opened by hand, such as one held shut with a screw. Toys containing water beads are best kept away from toddlers altogether, whatever the label says. And any high chair at a party should have a fixed restraint between the legs that keeps a child from sliding under the tray.

None of this requires turning a party into an inspection. It does mean spending a few minutes with the CPSC’s recall list before filling goody bags or pulling a hand-me-down chair out of storage.

What it means for you

• Check your high chair: If you own a Costway convertible high chair bought between May 2023 and July 2026, stop using it and request the free replacement.
• Inspect light-up costumes: Before Halloween, make sure battery compartments on crowns, wands and toys are secured with a screw.
• Skip water beads: Leave squishy toys with visible beads or gel inside out of goody bags for young children.
• Search before you share: Look up borrowed or secondhand baby gear on the CPSC recall site before using it at a party.
• Report problems: Incidents involving children’s products can be reported to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.