While there are only limited reports of injury so far, the basic principles of projectiles have been used for millennia and the effects of similar projectile toys are well understood, he said. Constructed and machined from high-quality stainless steel components, the Bowman comes supplied with a spare bow string and everything you need to maintain your bow, including a screwdriver and display stand. Allowing you to showcase your Bowman proudly on your desk or shelf when it’s not in use. Keeping it handy for those times when you need to practice your Bowman ship or while away a little time during those thoughtful moments. The same principle applies to other types of projectile toys, such as BB guns, pellet guns and even Nerf guns. One of the real dangers is that the toy's potential for harm may not be immediately apparent, Gittelman said. Business owners shouldn't sell toys that are physically or mentally harmful to minors," said the Administration for Industry and Commerce of Chengdu, in the provincial capital of Sichuan. "Once found, the products will be pulled from the shelves, and the businesses will be punished." You could play devil's advocate and say these things haven't been tested enough," Gittelman told Live Science. "We know enough of other types of [projectiles] that these are worrisome enough."

And because these toys can be hidden, kids can take the crossbows into locations, such as schools, where traditional projectile-firing toys (other than a slingshot) could not be concealed for long. It's a projectile. Any type of projectile can cause a problem," said Dr. Mike Gittelman, a professor of pediatrics at the Division of Emergency Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the co-director of the hospital's Comprehensive Children's Injury Center. A lot of the times, a kid will get hit by one of those and it won't hurt a lot but it might kind of sting, so they think it's kind of funny without knowing what the risk is," Gittelman said. When you can cause catastrophic injury to a child, you have to weigh the risk versus the benefit," Gittelman said. "It looks like a dangerous item to be marketing."The key concern with this toy is the potential for an eye injury, Gittelman said. In fact, a 10-year-old boy in Xinjiang, China, likely sustained permanent damage after a projectile launched by a mini-crossbow hit him in the eye. [ 9 Weird Ways Kids Can Get Hurt]