A chest with a hinged lid looks harmless, but the CPSC reports deaths and serious injuries from lids that drop and from children getting trapped inside. This guide covers what the CPSC says in its reseller guide, so you can check a toy chest or storage chest before you buy. It covers US advice only, and we did not read UK or EU rules for chests.

This guide is based on the public source listed below. We have not tested any chest or store. For other furniture risks, see our guides to tall furniture and tip-overs and buying furniture online.

What the CPSC says

Source: CPSC, Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products, Publication 254 (February 2025). Last checked: 17 October 2026.

  • Lid drop. Chests with vertically opening hinged lids can collapse or drop suddenly, especially with an adjustable friction lid support. CPSC has reports of death and brain damage when lids fell on children's heads or necks. Most of the children were under 2 and were reaching into the chest.
  • Suffocation. Children have died after climbing in to hide or sleep in chests without adequate ventilation.
  • Other injuries. Lid supports, hardware and attachments that fail have caused crushing, pinching and cuts.
  • How toy chests are regulated. They fall under the toy safety standard ASTM F963.
  • What CPSC staff advise sellers. Do not sell a chest without a spring-loaded lid support that holds the lid open in any position without the user adjusting it, or without ventilation openings in the front, sides or a gap under the lid (not blocked when the chest sits against a wall). Also avoid chests with an automatic lock or latch, and recalled storage chests with automatic locks such as trunks, wicker chests and wooden storage chests: the guide says children have died in these too.

What to check on a listing

  1. The lid support. Look for a spring-loaded support that holds the lid in any position, not a friction hinge you adjust.
  2. Ventilation. Check for openings in the front or sides, or a gap under the lid, and make sure nothing will block them.
  3. No latch or automatic lock that could trap a child inside.
  4. Second-hand and antique trunks. Check recalls at cpsc.gov/recalls and remove or disable any lock.
  5. Warnings and manual, and the store's return rules for bulky items.

What we could not confirm

  • Injury counts and years, the text of ASTM F963 (paid) and UK or EU rules.

Source: US CPSC, Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products (PDF).