Afraid to Buy Toys for Christmas: Reflections on Toy Recalls from China and Elsewhere

I'm afraid to buy toys for my children or any other children this Christmas and for good reason. From lead contamination recalls, to contamination with GHB, to general safety concerns, so many toys have been pulled from the shelf this year.

Many of these toys and other children's products were made in China, so parents are now choosing to buy only from the US. However, there have even been recalls of US made products. Children have been hospitalized, and even died, because of these recalls.

So, what does a parent do? How do we determine which toys are safe when the manufacturers don't even know until it's too late.

Because of these senseless recalls from China and elsewhere, that could have been avoided with better examination of products, now many children may not receive toys this Christmas. Parents are being extra cautious, and for good reason.

We do have the option of having our doctors test these toys for lead contamination. However, now that isn't the only risk. With a very popular children's toy (Aqua Dots) causing children to be hospitalized for ingesting GHB from the contaminated toy, the testing possibilities are now seemingly endless.

What do we test for? Everything under the sun? Not only is that a ridiculous thing for parents to have to go through, but to do all those tests on every toy would cost an astronomical fee, which all parents simply won't have access to.

Something needs to be done to regulate these toy companies before more children are hurt, or even lose their lives.

When a company makes a product geared specifically toward children, that company needs to do everything to ensure the product is safe for children. That means being sure that the product cannot be easily broken or cause injury. It also means that the product must be completely non-toxic.

Children, even older children, put things in their mouths all the time, especially their favorite toys. When a product is made for children, it should be developed with the assumption that it will go in the mouth, even it isn't made for that purpose, because, for many children, that is directly where it will go.