You may see aisles of fun when you walk through toys stores this holiday season, but some consumer groups see danger, lots of it.

Just in time for the heavy-duty gift-buying weeks, W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm) released its "2006 Worst Toys List," and the U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) issued its 21^st "Trouble in Toyland" report.

Tops on the W.A.T.C.H. list is one of my daughter's favorites, Heelys skate sneakers. W.A.T.C.H. is focusing on Heelys because one boy died and other kids have been injured while wearing Heelys without protective gear. W.A.T.C.H. says kids should wear the same safety equipment as skateboarders and skaters—helmets and knee pads—when they wear Heelys. But most don't because kids and parents consider Heelys shoes, not skates.

Here's the full W.A.T.C.H. list, which includes lesser-known products, such as "Fear Factor Candy Challenge" because Toy aisles should not be used to encourage food-eating competitions, which invite potential choking and ingestion injuries, particularly for young children.

PIRG singles out the small pieces in Wal-Mart's Kid Connection Mini Activity Cube and Hasbro's Lincoln Logs Frontier Firehouse because the smallest log almost fits in a choke tube. Lincoln Logs! PIRG's report stresses the dangers of toys with small parts, magnets, loud toys, and toys with toxic chemicals. There are dolls and many other toys with lots of small accessories on the PIRG list (PDF) and many with magnets, which PIRG notes are dangerous if more than one are swallowed because magnets can attract to each other and cause intestinal perforation and blockage.

It's true that nearly 73,000 children under the age of five visited hospital ERs for toy-related injuries in 2005, and 20 children died as a result of toy-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But it's also true that most injuries can be avoided by parents using common sense when choosing toys for their children.

These lists are helpful, but take a look at everything you buy to make sure the parts are not small enough to choke on, or sharp-edged, or made with questionable chemicals. Some things, like the smallest Legos, may be great for older kids, but if they've got younger siblings who want to do everything they do, make sure tiny building pieces are always out of reach to little ones.

Toy shopping should be fun, so choose well and enjoy!