As I began Christmas shopping this season I encountered a dilemma I’ve never experienced before.
This year I have a 7 month old neice on my shopping list and I found what I thought would be the perfect present for her, the Baby Einstein Color Kaleidoscope. The toy can be played with passively or actively by children ages 3-18 months. It displays primary colors while singing their names in English, French, or Spanish, then combines the colors and sings the names of the colors created. If the child is not content watching the lights and listening to the songs they can grab the colorful handlebars (each with a different texture) to hear the color’s name or grab more than one handlebar to create new colors.
As anyone who’s been to a toy store knows, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to toys. But it was the sheer volume and multitude of toys that made me feel concerned. How many of the toys on the market have been tested for child safety?
28,196,127 toys have been recalled in the last 12 months (as of 11/06/07). I obtained that number by copying and pasting the number of recalls in each toy recall report found on the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website from 11/02/06- 11/06/07 into an Excel spreadsheet. While doing this I read through the reports. The vast majority of the recalls fell under two categories: lead contamination and choking hazards. I was startled by how many different types of toys were affected as well as the diversity of the toy manufacturers themselves.
With a seemingly infinite array of toys on the market it would be na’ve to assume that every toy available to purchase has been tested and approved for child safety. As far as I could find, there is not a list available of toys tested and found safe. But there are things we as consumers can do to reduce our uncertainty.
First, you can make yourself aware of the toys that have been recalled and periodically check the CPSC’s website for updates. Many stores, including the Commerce Wal-Mart have done an excellent job of taking recalled toys off their shelves quickly, but there are toys recalls every few days.
Without checking the CPSC’s Web site every so often you will have no way of knowing whether or not the toys you bought last week were recalled this week, especially since most of the recalls are not reported on the news.
Another option consumers have is to avoid buying toys made in China. Of the 28,196,127 toys recalled from 11/02/06 – 11/06/07, 28,022,227 of them were made in China. That’s roughly 99%.
Unfortunately doing so will dramatically reduce your shopping selection because, at least in my experiences I found, that finding a toy not made in China is remarkably difficult. But when in doubt, consumers can always contact the manufacturers of the toys on their shopping list and ask them whether or not a specific product has been tested and found safe.
You may have to wait several days or more for a response, but its worth it in the end to able to give the children in your life toys without worry or reservations.
Morott is a graduate student at A&M-Commerce.