Anyone Catch the Channel 4 Sat Night News at 10:00, the LEAD Story?

With more and more recalls I wonder if any of my kids toys made in China are good. I wonder if they can even track back to the toys I do have. I tossed out all the rubber ducks and anything with painted services that my 1 year old can eat. It's a shame and it ticks me off that nobody gives a rats behind out the children who come in contact or even put toys in their mouths. I'm just as erked as you are. It's completely normal.

It is scary and makes me furious, too. Toys made in China completely dominate the industry. I check this website every day: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html to see if any of my daughter's toys have been recalled. I did some research myself and found a couple websites with American made toys. There is a decent selection on www.amazon.com. www.littletikes.com has a link for all their toys made in the U.S.

This is one topic I could vent on for awhile, but I will refrain. I stopped going to the "dollar section" at Target because I don't want to support China anymore. You, as a consumer, hold a lot of power in your hand when you hold your benjamin's. If we all stopped buying, believe me they would remove lead from their factory so fast it would astound you. Toys being made in Europe are seeing a renaissance because they have always had much better quality control process and used natural products. You might end up buying less toys, but you would be assured that they would be safe in your children's mouth and hands. At the end of the day, I think I buy way too many toys for my kids. It probably wouldn't hurt to scale down this year and put the money towards their IRA.

Cheri,

I have been worried too especially since we had one of those recalled Dora dolls. Even though my daughter plays with the doll more, I had my son checked at his last checkup for lead and he was fine. I asked my pediatrician if a lot of parents had been having their kids checked for lead and she said yes but that no kids she has known of in their practice that actually tested positive. I think it takes a lot of prolonged sucking of the toys with lead (especially if it is in a plastic) for it to get into the kids system. That doesn't mean I am promoting toys with lead...I am just saying I would be more worried about a young toddler 1-2 who puts everything in their mouth vs maybe a 3 or 4 yr old.

Good luck in finding non-China toys. It sounds like there are quite a few stores available listed in posts below. I will have to check them out too.

I think it is interesting if you go to the recall website, the lead recalls are recent... to me that means that the companies have just started testing the products. How do we know that older toys are safe? I have many items that I have purchased at garage sales that are a few years old.. is anyone testing these things? I think it is really scary and I am considering getting rid of all the made in china plastic toys and going to a natural family store (like Peapods in St. Paul) and buying new things that are made in the USA. Even if I have to have 1/2 the stuff, it makes sense to me to buy less better made safe toys than the cheaper stuff at Target.

J.

I know, I feel the same way. My mother just bought Tinker toys, but they have plastic and are made in China (though I asked her NOT to buy them if they were made in China.) I'm buying most of our toys from either Magic Cabin (online) or from Pea Pods in St. Paul.

Cheri,
I didn't catch the news, but I don't trust big toy manufacturers in general. I don't think those big businesses care about anything but making cheap junk so they can make money. I don't buy toys from those big stores either because that's all they are going to carry. I try, in all my purchases, to know where things came from, because if I don't know I could be getting anything. Now, I admit, I'm a rather crunchy granola Mom, but I'd rather support small local businesses and buy toys that are made by reputable companies. I do my shopping at places like Peapods in St. Paul. You won't find Dora there, but you also won't find any poisonous toys. Mothering Magazine has a list of vendors online who carry safe kid stuff.
Good Luck holiday shopping.
S.

Does anyone know how much lead would cause harm? Does it depend on their age, weight? Would one flake hurt or does it take quite a bit of exposure over time? I can't believe I have not asked my ped this but my boy just had the blood test and he was fine so sometimes the questions get put on the back burner.

I didn't read through all the posts, but I am in total agreement with you and have been searching for toys not made in China all fall. Creative Kids Stuff really does not have much in this area. Peapods has more, but their toy selection is minimal. I heard that FAO Schwartz New York has a line of Made in the USA toys. So does Little Tykes and Step 2. DEFINITELY check out their websites. I just bought some of their products at Toys R Us, which, as somebody else said, is giving toy manufacturers ultimatums. I actually called Pottery Barn Kids and asked them if their kitchen sets were made in China. (They are). One last thing I found was a MN based toy company called L.A.R.K. Their store is down south of Red Wing, but I'm planning on going. They have a website as well.

As one other poster said, we as consumers are the ones that have to do something about it. We can't accept this kind of negligence.

Anybody worry about toys from back in the 20's, 30's, 40's.....when the US used lead paint? I'm pretty sure the kids survived and didn't have many residual effects from lead paint and that was when it was on the walls too. I think it is media sensationalism. I'm not saying we shouldn't be aware and be careful, but there are a lot bigger things to worry about your kids getting hurt on/by than lead paint on toys.
Just my two cents worth.

Heres my two cents...of course I am worried, but we grew up with lead in our toys and we are just fine...no health problems or concerns. Does this mean i dont care about this for my child? Of course I do. I am more concerned with the toys that have been painted. Molded toys like mega blocks are not a huge concern.

I did find out by looking at just about every toy that even Crayola and Playdoh are made in China...no more crayons :( Really as a parent I think we need to evaluate how much we want our own children exposed.

Here are a few toys I did find that are made in the USA.
Legos
Paula Bunyon logs (exactly like lincoln logs just an off brand but still made in the USA).
Little Tykes offers a HUGE selection of toys that are made in the USA. Check out their website.

There is a reason that the US stopped using lead paint on children's toys and in interior paint. It is very dangerous. Many children died from eating paint chips. A 4 yr old from right here in MN died from swallowing a charm with too much lead in it just last year. However, ingesting small amounts of lead over a period of time is actually the greatest concern...like what could happen from a baby always sucking on a toy with lead paint. So, it is not *just* media sensationalism. Of course the media is hyping this to the max, but that doesn't mean it is not a serious issue.

The best way to get China to stop putting lead in toys is to stop buying them. There are some wonderful independent toy stores here in the Twin Cities (Peapods, Wonderment, and Creative Kidstuff come to mind) where you can find safe alternatives (CK does have some made in China stuff, but also alternatives). Even better, you'll be supporting the local economy to a much greater extent than you would be by shopping in a chain or online. Another way is to CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR and let him/her know that you want stricter standards. They will make this a priority if they start hearing from their constituents. A handwritten note is also a good way to send them your message.

As for me, I haven't banned toys made in China entirely, but have chosen to not purchase anything from dollar stores, no cheap little trinkets, no toys that are small, painted, or might be chewed on by my baby. It's just not worth the risk. And even if it turns out that every single toy that I could have bought but didn't is safe, I still feel better about supporting my local independent retailer.

I thought I heard that Target is doing their own independent testing for lead and that Toys R Us is not only doing their own testing, but is also requiring the people they buy from to certify that the toys have been tested. I think I'll buy from Toys R Us!