I think that Americans are a little nutty about safety. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is constantly issuing recalls, particularly of children’s toys and gear. I do believe that some of these recalls are necessary, but I also believe that many people are unduly stressed by them. Recently thousands of toys were recalled because of “high levels of lead” in the paint. I’ve done some research into lead poisoning. I did it because I acquired an old, painted dresser and I wondered if it was covered in lead based paint. I contacted my county health department. That is where I learned that unless the paint is pealing off and someone is eating it in quantity, there is unlikely to be a problem. However they happily sold me a lead paint test kit for a few dollars. I swabbed the dresser and it was clean.
The children who end up with lead poisoning live in old houses with old paint that is flaking and turning into lead dust. There is a difference between being careful about lead and being paranoid. I have declined to get rid of Gleek’s Polly Pockets. She is not in the habit of scratching the paint off and eating it. Even if she were, the supposedly “high” levels of lead in the paint are actually quite low and probably not dangerous in small quantities.
I feel the same way about magnetic toys. A recent article listed them as one of the biggest hazards of the year. Really? I know that the magnets should never be in the hands of small children who might eat them, but is that really a reason to take them out of the hands of every child everywhere? Somehow I think that far more children are endangered and injured by household chemicals than by magnets or minuscule amounts of lead in paint. It is ironic that parents panic about these toy recalls, but will leave toxic cleaners under the sink in the bathroom.
It all boils down to responsibility. I don’t believe that it is the job of the toy manufacturer or the CPSC to keep my children safe. That is my job. I must look at the toys and items in my house and decide whether I consider them a danger to my children. I do read the recall notices, but only rarely does my judgment determine that the recall was essential for my family. I also do not assume that a product is safe merely because it has not been recalled. Nothing is completely safe. Freak accidents happen. An informed parent who judges based on research rather than paranoia, and who supervises appropriately, is the best way to keep kids safe.
Exactly!
It all boils down to responsibility. I don’t believe that it is the job of the toy manufacturer or the CPSC to keep my children safe. That is my job. I must look at the toys and items in my house and decide whether I consider them a danger to my children. I do read the recall notices, but only rarely does my judgment determine that the recall was essential for my family. I also do not assume that a product is safe merely because it has not been recalled. Nothing is completely safe. Freak accidents happen. An informed parent who judges based on research rather than paranoia, and who supervises appropriately, is the best way to keep kids safe.
It is my responsibility to raise my children as I see fit. A major part of that is deciding what is and what is not safe for them to do and to have. Another major part of that is to walk them through how I made the decision so they can make similiar decisions when they are their own responsibility.
With a little ingenuity, some magnets, and a lot of plastic resin, you can make toys that are safe and appropriate to the sensibility you’ve given your own kids, and reduce your reliance on Chinese sweatshop labor. 🙂
Personally, I tend to use fiberglass and polystyrene, but to each her own. 😉
Re: Exactly!
Excellent point about teaching the kids how to make their own decisions.
I agree. They just recalled those plastic Cub Scout progress bead holders. For crying out loud, except for putting them ON the uniform cub scouts don’t ever touch them and Never Ever put them in their mouths.
Also, choking hazards get kind of ridiculous too.
We own Magnetics, but my kids DO NOT put them in their mouths. If the Magnets fell out they would pick them up and show them to me. They are not a choking hazard at my house.
But, if a parent bought magnetics for a child who WOULD put them in their mouth THEN that’s a serious lack of judgment.
Do companies consider the age group of the toy they are warning us about? or could they just send a note saying, “Be warned, the magnets might fall out… here’s how to glue them back in.”
Now, THAT would be nice.
Everytime they annouce the lead products lately Ross and I look at each other and smile and feel happy that we don’t buy too many toys anymore (only for birthdays and packs of cards every once in a while.)
I would like to start a new political party called the Common Sense party, would you like to join? : )
argh. that was me again. roster007 .
my computer fixing is becoming a priority!
You all sound like smart, sane, responsible, sensible and caring parents. And you are going to raise children that will turn into the same.
Thank you! We need more of you!
I agree with you! Because of paranoia for the safety of children, there are some things I would love to be able to get for my girls that I can’t.
When I was little, we had these crafty type things. They had square metal trays and you poured liquid plastic in them and then baked them in a square sort of open topped oven. I have no idea what they were called but I had a flowers one and my brother had creepy crawlies (bugs and worms) and there were a lot of others. We spent hours and hours making and playing with the results. Yes, we got our fingers burned sometimes but never worse than the immediate “stick it in your mouth and forget it” burn. Mostly, it taught us to be careful!
I wish I could get a set of those for Emily.
Creepy-Crawlers
I remember those. Couldn’t remember the name on my own, though. I had to look it up on Google. Tenth search result for ‘ “children’s toy” plastic melt mold ‘ was http://sec.edgar-online.com/1997/10/15/17/0001047469-97-000898/Section11.asp which mentioned Plasti-Goop and Creepy-Crawlers.
Wikipedia has this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creepy_Crawlers
and this page has some pictures: http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/cc.html
Ebay has plenty of listings for ‘thingmaker’, though with today’s modern low melting point thermoplastics and low-melting point metal alloys you might be able to find something that works even better than the old thingmaker sets. Think metal or flexible plastic toys that can be melted down again and re-cast as something different.
Anyway, I hope this helps you.
Ronal