The very thing that makes magnets so much fun to play with is the same thing that makes them dangerous. They stick together. And if swallowed, they'll make their way to each other inside the body, even if things like small intestines stand in their way. At least 19 children have required surgery after swallowing the small, powerful magnets that are part of today's building sets, leading to recalls of the popular toys.

Though the toys have been recalled, they may still be in homes across the country. Read the CPSC warning about these kinds of magnets here to find out if you're household may be affected.

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With all the China-based product recalls in the media lately, that country is at least presenting the appearance of trying to rectify safety issues from manufacturers there. As such, China has now pinpointed a list of unsafe products sitting on shelves in many Wal-Mart stores. Carrefour stores in Europe are also affected.

After making a 'safety sweep' of Beijing marketplaces recently, the Chinese government listed out a whole new list of toys this week. But, too little too late (which is a good thing).

Wal-Mart said that the data released by the Chinese government was at least a few months old, and the referenced children's toys had already been removed from store shelves. Time is of the essence here, but I guess that's somewhat meaningless when it actually comes from within China.

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U.S. toy safety group World Against Toys Causing Harm has released their annual "worst toys" list. The group keeps an eye out for toys that could be harmful to kids, then highlights them on their list for concerned parents. Toys on the list include those that have tested positive for lead paint, magnet toys that could be swallowed, and toys that have potential for injury.

Check out the list and tell us if you agree with WATCH. While I don't think that kids should be playing with lead-paint coated toys, I wonder if WATCH is taking it too far when they include things like the Hip Hoppa. Toys that encourage physical activity always have the potential for injury, but parents can prevent trouble by following safety precautions. Then again, I haven't seen the toy in action, so I'm not sure. What do you think?

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Australian authorities recently banned toy-of-the-year Bindeez after discovering that the beads included with the toy were manufactured using a chemical that, when ingested, metabolizes as a date-rape drug. Three children who ingested the beads became severely ill and had to be hospitalized.

Bindeez have been recalled and manufacturers say that the beads in all future products will be coated with a foul tasting substance to keep kids from swallowing them. I recently saw this product in a catalog and thought my preschooler would love it, but Bindeez, Mattell, Fisher Price, and all the other toy manufacturers involved in recent recalls have a long way to go to win my confidence back. What about you?

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With the Mattel and Fisher Price million-toy recall in full force right now, millions of parents are probably wondering how to get those existing, recalled toys from the clutches of quite a few youngsters.

It's probably not a good idea to just too those toys into the trash with your kids' eyes on them -- but what is the best course of action then?

There's a pretty good allotment of tips on how to confiscate the affected toys over at CNN. From distractions to just taking toys away while kids are not paying attention, there are also ways to just replace toys with non-recalled ones and let it go at that. After all, the attention span of most young kids will allow this to happen quite easily.

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