Toxic Toys
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I just found out that the Baby Einstein soft blocks we own are among the many toys that have been recently been recalled due to lead paint. Great.
All of this Made-in-China toy scare hoopla makes me want to toss all of Scouts toys in the trash and start fresh with safe, non-toxic, Made-in-the-USA toys, preferably made from natural materials.
Oh wait. We can't do that because we're not rich.
One of Scout's favorite toys is a soft plasticky book called "Mimi's Toes" (also a Baby Einstein product). It smells very strongly like a pool raft - ya know, that weird chemically rubbery smell? I turned it over to see what it is made of and it is PVC. I thought I remembered reading somewhere that PVC is not safe for children's toys, so I tried to look up some info on it.
From the many articles I read, I can see that there are 2 different camps: people who think PVC is the devil and say it is a very hazardous material that should not be used for toys..... and then those who think that PVC is perfectly safe. I don't know who to believe. One of the articles I read states that the strong pool raft smell that many PVC items give off is actually the pthalates (plasticizers that make the PVC pliable) off-gassing.
I know that I can't hide my little girl from all plastics and PVC items for the rest of her life, but I'd really rather not have my baby ravenously gnawing on a hunk of mildly toxic "out-gassing" material.
I wonder if I can convince my parents and DH's parents that they should buy Scout some expensive Made-in-America wooden and cloth toys form now on . Ha. Yeah.
ETA: Just so you know, DH and I aren't the ones who have bought Scout all of this plastic Baby Einstein crap. We just received a lot of toys as gifts at her baby shower.
All of this Made-in-China toy scare hoopla makes me want to toss all of Scouts toys in the trash and start fresh with safe, non-toxic, Made-in-the-USA toys, preferably made from natural materials.
Oh wait. We can't do that because we're not rich.
One of Scout's favorite toys is a soft plasticky book called "Mimi's Toes" (also a Baby Einstein product). It smells very strongly like a pool raft - ya know, that weird chemically rubbery smell? I turned it over to see what it is made of and it is PVC. I thought I remembered reading somewhere that PVC is not safe for children's toys, so I tried to look up some info on it.
From the many articles I read, I can see that there are 2 different camps: people who think PVC is the devil and say it is a very hazardous material that should not be used for toys..... and then those who think that PVC is perfectly safe. I don't know who to believe. One of the articles I read states that the strong pool raft smell that many PVC items give off is actually the pthalates (plasticizers that make the PVC pliable) off-gassing.
I know that I can't hide my little girl from all plastics and PVC items for the rest of her life, but I'd really rather not have my baby ravenously gnawing on a hunk of mildly toxic "out-gassing" material.
I wonder if I can convince my parents and DH's parents that they should buy Scout some expensive Made-in-America wooden and cloth toys form now on . Ha. Yeah.
ETA: Just so you know, DH and I aren't the ones who have bought Scout all of this plastic Baby Einstein crap. We just received a lot of toys as gifts at her baby shower.
Labels: baby-proofing, general complaining, safety
posted by Unkempt Mommy at 2:55 AM
3 Comments:
I so hear you about the toy thing. I think I am going to throw out everything from china and everything plastic...oh, that would be most all the kids toys..but that's okay. When my mom was a kid all she had to play with was a stick and a rock. :o) (Her version) but hey, not too far from the truth. I mean, how many toys do our babies really NEED?
Tomorrow I'm tossing the junk. I'm done. Then I'll budget some money to get a FEW quality toys. I'm making a change. Viva Revolution! Who is with me???
Well, this revolutionary threw away a garbage bag full of cheap plastic crap made in china. I think my motto is going to be quality, not quantity. We,ve already told a few of the grandparents we don't do china anymore. I'm going to do a search of toys that are acceptable to us.
That is awesome! I really need to do the same thing. I just kep putting it off because if I threw all of our cheap plastic China junk away right now, Scout would have NO toys at all and I don't have any money to replace them at the moment. I NEED to find a way, though. Do you have a favorite source for good made-in-America non-PVC toys?
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