More than 276,000 Esjay Toddler Busy Board Montessori Toys sold on Amazon.com are being recalled because detachable red knobs on the felt boards can come loose and choke a young child. The toys were sold nationwide from March 2023 through July 2026 for roughly $18 to $30, and no injuries or incidents have been reported so far.
The recall was announced by Esjay, the brand name used by manufacturer Shenzhen Yishijie Technology Co., Ltd., which produced the toys in China. According to Esjay, the company “is conducting a voluntary recall” of the busy boards after determining that the red knobs featured on one page of the toy can detach from the fabric. As reported by WJCL, the toys were manufactured by Shenzhen Yishijie Technology Co., Ltd., doing business as Esjay US, and sold exclusively through Amazon.com during that roughly three-year stretch.
The problem centers on the second of five pages that make up each busy board. The station's report notes that the boards have five pages in total, with the red-knob page landing second in the lineup — the specific spot where the detachment risk lives.
Why the Knobs Trip a Federal Safety Ban
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has said the recalled toy violates the federal small-parts ban because it is intended for children under 3 and its red knobs can detach, creating a choking risk for that exact age group. Per the same account, the danger is not a manufacturing defect so much as a design mismatch: a toy marketed for toddlers cannot legally include pieces small enough to lodge in a child's throat. The WHIO report describes the same defect plainly: the red knobs can come off, and a child could choke on them.
Despite the scale of the recall, the affected article notes that no injuries or incidents have been reported in connection with the toys. That detail matters for parents assessing urgency, since the recall is preventive rather than a response to a known injury.
What the Busy Board Looks Like
The recalled boards are easy to identify. They are made of blue felt and feature carrying handles, elastic cords, and button closures, along with cartoon dinosaurs on the front and 26 small squares showing alphabet letters paired with cartoon animals on the back. As MassLive reported, the design was meant to double as an early-learning tool, combining sensory play elements with letter and animal recognition on a single folding board.
Parents who own one of the boards do not need to return it or wait for a refund. Consumers are instructed to immediately stop using the product and keep it out of reach of children until a fix is installed, per Esjay's recall notice. The company is offering a free compliant replacement page to swap in for the one with the red knobs.
How to Get a Free Replacement Page
To claim it, owners are told to unzip the second page containing the red knobs, write “RECALLED” on both sides, and throw it away, according to the notice detailed by WHIO. Customers then need to send a photo of the disposed page, along with their order number if available and purchase channel, to Esjay at [email protected] to request the free replacement. Esjay can also be reached directly at 888-206-9309 for questions about the process.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the formal recall notice covering the Esjay toys, adding it to a stream of children's product recalls that regulators have flagged in recent months. Separate cases this year included a recall of more than 6,000 teething toys sold on Amazon and another involving nearly 50,000 pull-string teething toys tied to reported choking incidents, underscoring how frequently small detachable parts on children's items have drawn federal scrutiny.
