Info on Recalled Toys

I would reccomend only shopping at toy world and creative kids stuff. that is where i shop, they have great selections and none of it is from china, thailand, vietnam...

Ok this really has nothing to do with all this except that maybe there will be some change coming out of China soon. I heard today (and maybe this is old news and I am just out of the loop) that the guy in China who was mainly responsible for the other recent toy recall committed suicide. This is sad but maybe the other "big guns" out there will realize this is serious stuff. Just something to think about. Have a good day moms!

It looks like the recall information has been covered, so I'll just suggest some other toy things.

Toy World often has excellent toys, dress-up costumes (a pair of fairy wings or a pretty cape can be amazing) and groovy girls, which are a nice alternative to Barbies (they're soft, less curvy, and have clothes and accessories and pets, etc., if that's your bag). There are a number of locations - here's a google maps link: http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf...
(They also have free gift wrapping).

Hearthsong has lovely toys and lots of ideas: www.hearthsong.com

Chinaberry books has great books grouped by age range, and a small toy section with carefully-selected toys: http://www.chinaberry.com/

6 years old is a super time to shift to craft kits, and there are about a million of them out there.

Lakeshore Learning, the school supply store, has an online site and locations in Maplewood and St. Louis Park. It's a good place to browse for craft and toy ideas, though it seems a little pricey - the toys are generally very durable, though!

6 is also a great time to get your daughter some "real" things - like a piece of real jewelry (instead of plastic costume stuff) - something you'd buy at a "grown up" store.

Another fun idea is the coupon thing - my mother-in-law made my son a packet of coupons ("good for one snow cone", "good for one trip to the pool", "good for two stories of your choice"...). I was amazed at how much he liked them. She made the coupons on her computer out of heavy stock paper, with clip art and fancy lettering, and gave them to him in a special envelope.

Try these websites...
http://service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07212.html

We had some of the trains in the Thomas recall and we mailed them in, got them replaced, and were reimbursed for postage.

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp

If you go to this site, it will tell you what to do with the toys. I believe they will mail you a return label for the toy and they send you a voucher good towards a different purchase.

I work for a toy manufacturer and distributor here in the cities and we've been receiving a ton of inquiries regarding this. If you have any concerns about the toys I would highly recommend contacting the manufacturer directly. They should be able to provide you with all the toys affected, which will hopefully narrow it down for you a bit. Also request that they provide you with any and all safety test reports, the reports will specify the different tests and also specify what the toy is made of. If you find that any of your childs toys contain the lead ask the manufacturer how they will remedy the situation. Don't be shy about asking for replacement toys! I understand that you may not necessarily trust the manufacturers in which these toys were made however keep in mind that manufacturers typically can't provide refunds but rather a replacement of the same toy or another toy at equal value.
Keep in mind that not all toys made in China have been affected by this recall. Do your research and if you have questions contact the manufacturer. I can't stress that enough!

By the way...Lisa is incorrect. We sell to Toy World and Creative Kidstuff and all but a few of our items are made in China. We do our own safety testing and none of our toys have been affected by this recall.

Good luck

Go to mattel.com and it will give you a list and you will be able to send the toys to mattel and then they will send vouchers to you to buy new toys.

Toy ideas: Crayons, markers, colored pencils. Bubbles. Puzzles. Bikes. Cards. Play money. I am a second grade teacher so I'm trying to think of things my students like. I am due with my first baby in 5 weeks and all of these recalls make me paranoid, too. Good luck!

I went onto myfox9.com and went under toy recall and you can get an envelope that you put them in and they will send you a voucher for the cost of the toys. the voucher will be for mattel or fisher price depending on what you send back in.

Here is a website with the toys that are recalled.
http://www.mattel.com/safety/us/

With Barbie its just because the magnet in the scooper that comes with the dogs can come off and a small child can swallow it. I wouldn't even worry about it unless you have younger children who tend to put things in their mouths. The danger is not even swallowing a magnet - the danger is swallowing TWO magnets. Because of that remote possibility is why they are being recalled. Its only the Barbie sets that come with dogs and scoopers.

So far as I've seen, the only toy in this recall that is because of lead paint is one of the die-cast metal cars from the movie "Cars."

I just read in a report that China actually has 2 standards for quality - one for toys destined to the U.S. and another, higher standard for toys sent to Europe. I guess Europe has stricter standards and tests more than we do.

Hi B.,

Have you checked all the toys id #'s the recall is not on ALL pollies and dora stuff. It has a specific code on each item and the were manufactured during a specific time frame.

We have a ton of stuff but not from that specific time frame so they are NOT part of the recall.

Also IF you do have a ton of stuff go to www.mattel.com and follow the directions for how to send recalled toys back. They will send you a voucher to spend on safe products.

Lastly as we know Mattel has been around for years and this has been a very strange occurence. Mattels CEO has made a statement as to what they are doing to ensure our childrens safety in the future. Unfortunately the chose to use a crappy manufacturing plant in china to produce some of their products.

Good luck hope this helps you.

J.

I know, I am just as livid as you are! First go to www.mattel.com and check the toys that were recalled. The Dora toys that were recalled are the ones bought between May 07 and August. So you might be ok with those the Polly Pockets however are a bigger issue. Once you figure out which ones are the defected toys, you send them in to the company Mattel with a form and you will get a voucher check for what the toys are worth (but in 8-12 weeks!!). Pathetic I know, but I am sending all mine in just so they have to pay out every dime!
Good Luck

I haven't been much affected by the recalls except for a couple Thomas engines because we generally buy toys from places in the Twin Cities like Peapods, Wonderment, The Essence of Nonense, and Creative Kidstuff. Online I buy from Fat Brain Toys, Magic Cabin, and Hearthsong. Toys from these places tend to be more expensive but much better quality and a higher play factor because they are so open-ended (therefore you don't need as many). Wonderment has supplies for making Waldorf dolls which would be a great activity for you and your daughter to do together.

Your daughter still has plenty of toys to play with. There are only 2 Barbies affected by this and it's because they have magnet issues. If her toys being made in China is part of the problem, I don't think it will be an issue for much longer. From everything that I have read China is really cracking down on inspector bribes. Have you heard about the chief food inspector there? He's being executed for accepting bribes! That's just the beginning to a safer import/export end result.

http://www.service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp

This website will help you determine exactly what has been recalled and what to do with it. When my daugter's Easy Bake Oven was recalled, I gave the company my contact info on their website, they agreed to send me a box with a prepaid shipping label so it didn't cost me anything and I can send it back to the company. Then they gave me online store credit so my daughter could pick out a new toy not affected by the recall.

Not everything Barbie, Dora, Polly Pockets, etc. has been recalled because Mattel has a lot of paint vendors and the problem was with just one vendor. Some of the recalls are due to loose magnets, not lead paint. Understand also that there has not been a single injury or illness reported in relation to the lead paint. This is a precautionary prevetative action taken by Mattel because recalls are cheaper than law suits and lost future business.

It may be good to explain to your daughter that sometimes reporters put things on the media to get attention / scare people and that most of her toys are fine. The ones that might have a problem will probably be replaced by Mattel. (My daughter was pretty happy to find out she could trade in her toys for new ones.)

Recalled toys get pulled from the shelves quickly, so you can still shop for your daughter's birthday. It is good that you are being cautious to protect your daughter's safety.

If you get her tested for lead poisoning, she will have to have blood drawn. You may want to reconsider doing this to avoid unneccessarily traumatizing her. Even if she did have lead poisoning, all you would do is remove the lead source to solve the problem. Therapy for lead poisoning is reserved for when the exposure levels are very high and the person is very sick.

Best of luck,
S.

B., here's some info from the Consumer Product Safety Commission website:

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take these recalled toys away from children and contact Mattel to receive a voucher for a replacement toy of the customer’s choice, up to the value of the returned product.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Mattel toll-free at (888) 597-6597 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.service.mattel.com

Good luck!

-S.