Toys with Lead Paint

We don't buy or use any toys made in China!

For a good selection of quality toys, see www.oompa.com

Hi V..
When all this started, I realized there were too many toys, recall lists, and letters to write to make sure I caught every possible toy.

We have a new rule in our house: no toys in the mouth, no exceptions. This means no toy wind instruments or kazoos, but so be it.

The for the infant, I just closely watch what he gets to play with ('cause it's ALL going in his mouth - lol!)
T

I bought a lead test kit at Ace Hardware, about $10. I cut the pads in quarters (smaller than the directions say) so I could get the most use for my money. Then I tested the toys most suspected of having too much lead. Any that came up positive for too much (mostly toy jewelry) we threw out - if they're not safe for her they're not safe for anyone. My daughter is 6 so she understood when we explained that the lead could make her sick. I also had her blood lead level checked since many of these toys/jewelry she has had for several years(when she was younger it seemed nothing was safe from going into her mouth). Thankfully, her blood work came back fine. Now we check the recalled toy list before making gift wish lists (Christmas, birthday) and we also make sure to give only "safe" toys as gifts. We also remind her not to put anything, other than real food, in her mouth esp. at other people's homes since we don't always remember which toys are considered "safe" and if they live in an older home there could be rememnants of lead paint on the walls which could flake off and get on the toys. I try not to be too paranoid about it, but do take normal, practical hygience precautions.

My friend and I were just talking about what to do with these recalled products. Although I don't have any to worry about at this time, it is a true dilemma for plenty of households. Giving them to charity just passes the problem on to another unsuspecting family and I always believe if it's not good enough, safe enough, clean enough for me then why give it to somebody else? I was taught that if it's not in good enough condition to give to a loved one then don't pass it on as a donation. Throwing them in the trash is not good for the environment. Shipping back to the manufacturer is not cheap. Perhaps the only option is to take it back to the retailer where it was purchased. But, what if you no longer have the receipt? Even if you can't get your money back maybe just leave it with them to deal with. If they get enough stuff back they might change their product sources. My husband and I have been boycotting anything made in China...........boy, is that not easy!!! Sometimes it seems impossible but, in reality, it's a little more of a hassle and usually costs us a little more but in the long run we are saving so much because we don't "impulse buy" like we did before. If we can't find the same product made elsewhere then we oftentimes figure out we really don't HAVE to have it. Shoes are the only exception - can't seem to find many non-China made shoes.
Anyway, I hope somebody else out there has found a solution for disposal of recalled toys. I'd love to hear some more ideas.
Have a great day!!

I took my son's away. Now they are in the top of the closet. I wrote a letter to the manufactuer, you are supposed to get a refund from them, but it's been almost a year and I haven't heard anything back yet. I try not to buy any toys made in China, but our friends and family still get him stuff that is made in China. My husband says I worry too much and that my son doesn't put toys in his mouth anyway. I wouldn't donate them and put another child at risk.

Hello V.

Hey I was not aware of the "lead paint" could you tell me more and what web site to find what toys have been recalled. I have a huge play room full of toys and don't have any idea what is not good. Please send me the e-mail adress I hope my kids all don't have lead poisioning!

Marsee

My e-mail adress is ____@____.com
thanks!

it seems that many of these recalled toys have licensed characters on them so i avoid those. also if it's plastic and has paint on it, i don't buy it. if it's a gift and i think it's suspect i throw it away anyway unless it's really special and then i put it out of reach as a keepsake. if the paint is flaking i throw it away. i definitely would not give them to charity, wouldn't want to poison someone's kid, especially if they have fewer resources to find out what has been recalled. i also just have fewer toys. which is great for us because we spend more time building puzzles and reading or playing outside; i don't think they've recalled any soccer balls! good luck!

I have been lucky and with two boys have had no toys that were recalled due to lead paint. But, I would never donate them, that seems cruel really.

As far as returning them or throwing them away I am torn as it is a personal choice each parent will make. Some parents can only afford so many toys for there children and need to get replacements. Some parents don't want the hassle of the returning. Some parents are appalled and want the manufactures to know this is not acceptable and should take financial reponsibility.

I am a busy person so I would probably ellect to throw them out. You can be sure that I would return them if my child loved the toys a lot or if my children had limited toys.

Any parent who has a boy with limited toys should send me an e-mail. I would be thrilled to send some of the toys I bought and my boys have lost interest.

N. Rose

Quite frankly, I hope no one is giving these toys to charity! I mean, we don't want our kids to play with them, but it's ok to send them to poor kids? Are they any less important than our own? Yikes!

I subscribe to that too and it seems like a new one everyday!! Honestly it seems like my kids have every toy on the planet but we have only had one or two of those I did throw them out because I have a 3yr old boy and his little brother 8 mo puts everything in his mouth but if your kids are older there is not too much danger think about it our parents grew up with led painted houses and toys maybe just tell them not to put them in their mouth ;)

We had one Cars toy that was affected, we sent it back to the manufacturer per their instructions and then they sent us a voucher for $7.00, twice the amount we paid. My four-year old loved having the money to spend. Definitely don't donate affected toys to charity , either trash them or send them back to the manufacturer for a replacement or refund. And yes, I am sure a lot of us have had exposure to lead products in the past but if you know you have something that is being recalled you should get rid of it.

So I am just wondering how old everyone is in this forum. Depending on your age, ALL of your toys probably had lead paint in them, depending on when your house was built the walls have lead paint. I know its a big deal to not come in contact with lead but I think as long as your child isn't munching the paint, and actually getting paint off the toy and eating it there is no reason for them not to play with it. My two girls have almost all of the Dora sets and I looked up to see what was affected and there was only one set that had lead paint the other 60 sets or so didn't. I didn't take the one thing away from them because they don't put toys in their mouth. They touch my walls so I didn't see the harm in letting them touch the toys. Its really up to you as far as you want to go with getting rid of toys. But again I think all of us playing with lead paint toys and all of us lived in houses with lead paint. Its really a judgment call on your part and yes its very challenging finding US made toys unless you live in Oregon.