| Taking
a Closer Look at Toy Safety |
By Rebecca Plevin
Observer Staff Writer |
| If your child's holiday wish list includes a Dizzy Ducks
music box from Schylling Associates, a Go Diego Go! boat toy
from Fisher Price or a Winnie the Pooh play set from Disney,
you might have trouble snagging those items this year. |
| These are a portion of the more than 70 toys that the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled this year,
and just three of the more than 35 toys that were recalled
due to the presence of lead, according to the CPSC Web site.
These toys, and a majority of the toys recalled due to lead,
were manufactured in China. |
| Toy recalls splashed across the news this year as popular
products like Aqua Dots were pulled off the shelves, following
reports that at least two children were hospitalized in a
comatose state after swallowing the colored beads. |
| Toy store owner Jacquie Lambertson said that with all the
recalls this year, she has made an extra effort to maintain
good relationships with toy manufacturers. The key "is
knowing where you're getting your toys from and having a comfort
level with," the manufacturers, she said. At her store,
Noodles and Noggins in Clifton, Lamberston said she has begun
selling more toys from the United States, Canada and Europe,
especially for children through age 3. |
| To help parents make educated choices, Lambertson said
she set up the Web site www.madeinamericatoys.com, which lists
classic toys and unique gifts that are manufactured in the
United States and Canada. One of the toymakers she recommends
on the site is Whittle Shortline Railroad, an American company
that makes wooden trains. She said she began recommending
that company in the wake of the CPSC's June and September
recalls of Thomas & Friends train toys, which were manufactured
in China. |
| Linda Yengling, manager of Herndon-Reston F.I.S.H.'s Bargain
Loft, said this year the organization is only re-selling vintage
toys that were not made in China, like stuffed animals, puzzles
and wooden blocks. "We will not put anything for sale
in our store that is dangerous," she said. |
| The Bargain Loft chose to limit which toys it sells because
it does not have enough employees to consult a list of recalled
toys before putting them on the shelves, Yengling said. It
takes, "too many man hours to determine which toy was
recalled and which wasn't," she said. |
| She said the Bargain Loft would still accept all toy donations,
and that the group would give any new toys to Childhelp Children's
Center of Virginia, an organization that provides one-on-one
care to abused children. She said the children at the center
are never left alone, so there would be little risk of them
swallowing the toys. |
| Brian Murray, vice president of operations for the Marines
Toys for Tots foundation, said Toys for Tots has always checked
toys for safety and appropriateness and they "just want
to be a little more careful this year." |
| The organization has set up a system of checks to ensure
that only safe toys are donated, he said. That plan includes
posting lists and pictures of recalled toys in storage areas
and warehouses, so that volunteers sorting toys can set aside
those that have been recalled. |
| He said he hopes that the toy recalls do not deter people
from donating gifts because if so, "there are going to
be millions of children that will not be the recipients of
toys during the Christmas holidays," he said. |
| He encouraged consumers and donors to check the CPSC Web
site before purchasing a toy. "An educated consumer is
our favorite donor," Murray said. There are many Toys
for Tots drop-off areas across the region, including one at
Reston Town Center. |
| Reston resident Elizabeth Smith said she has always preferred
wooden toys, but that this year, she is "definitely a
lot more wary." She said, "I find myself looking
at labels and where it's made more often than I might otherwise."
|
| "Even the toys I do have, I have already checked out
to make sure they are still safe," she said. For the
holidays, Smith said she purchased online a small hammer-and-nail
set for her 5-year-old son and a European baby doll for her
2-year-old daughter. |
| But Jennifer Harper, also of Reston, said she has not been
very affected by the toy recalls. She said she is relieved
that her 2-year-old daughter and her 4-year-old son are no
longer at risk at ingesting toy parts. "I don't think
it's making a difference in my purchasing habits because my
children are old enough that they don't really mouth things
anymore," she said. |
| She said she printed the first list of toy recalls but,
"as more and more recalls came out, it was impossible
to keep up." |
