Concerns about Safety of Second Hand Toy Purchases

Government safety officials are concerned that money-conscious parents will purchase holiday gifts from secondhand, online sellers, who may not be aware of safety issues.

In a study published in the journal Injury Prevention, many products recalled years ago including bassinets, strollers, play yards, and various toys are for sale on eBay. Study authors randomly selected about 150 items that were recalled by the CPSC between 1992 and 2004. After tracking them for a month on eBay, researchers found that nearly 70 percent of the goods were eventually sold (despite the site's policy prohibiting the sale of recalled products). It does not appear the sellers are purposely trying to unload dangerous items, says study author Keri Brown Kirschman, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Dayton. "They're just parents trying to recycle old children's stuff and are probably completely unaware that these items have been found to be dangerous."

In 2008, the recalled products included cribs sold as far back as 1995 and toys as old as 1999. Most parents either don't hear about the recalls or don't have the information necessary to know if their products are part of the recall (purchase date, product number, etc.)

Before purchasing from eBay or after purchasing from a second hand store, be sure to enter the purchase in your SmartToyChoice account to check for a previous recall.

http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/13/4/228
http://www.parents.com/baby/safety/other-issues/recalled-baby-products/?sssdmh=dm17.344268&esrc=nwpce19_09&email=763132636

Over 2 Million Toys Recalled Today

Over 2 million MEGA Brand Magnetic toys were recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission on March 17th. Various Magnetix Jr., Magtastik and MagnaMan Magnetic toys sold between 2005 and 2007 are recalled by the federal government due to magnets. The magnetic toys are recalled because there have been reports of the magnets detaching from the toys.

I URGE parents to use caution. I have heard too many times - my child doesn't put things in their mouth - but does their little sister? their little cousin who comes over to play? or in my case - my two year old goes on all of my five year old's play dates - and he still puts things in his mouth. So please keep in mind even if your child doesn't put things in their mouth, a child who is in your house might.

Albany NY Kidz Expo Results

We met many concerned parents on Saturday at the Albany Kidz Expo. Some were surprised to see the Cranium Cadoo game or the Baby Einstein Crib Toy on the list of recalled toys for 2008. Several parents realized that toy recalls are not just for the preschoolers when they saw their children's remote controlled helicopter on the current year recall list as well. We accomplished our number one mission on Saturday - to let parents know - toy recalls are still an issue.

Winners of the drawing for the free year subscription to SmartToyChoice were notified by email today.

Thank you for visiting our booth.

Safety chief urges toymakers to get the lead out

In an article by Karey Wutkowski at http://www.reuters.com/article/Regulation08/idUSN0725654020080219, the top U.S. product safety regulator on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, urged manufacturers to remove lead from children's products before congressional action would essentially ban lead from toys. Congress is expected to vote to increase funding for the CPSC and cut the amount of allowable lead content in toys. Nancy Nord of the CPSC suggested that the time for testing lead tolerances should be over.

While excessive levels of lead dominated the news before Christmas and accounted for 42 of the 81 recalls issued by the CPSC in 2007, less than 20% of the 27 million toys recalled last year were due to lead. Magnets, burn issues, and lacerations accounted for the other 21 million toys. Again in 2008, lead accounts for less than 20% of the 300,000 toys recalled so far.

As a mother, I applaud the efforts to remove lead from my children's toys (I thought that happened a long time ago), though Congress does still need to increase funding for the CPSC to help oversee all the other manufacturing problems.

No Future Change to Made in China

Over 75% of the toys sold in the United States are made in China. As of January 25,2008, there have been seven recalls of over 200,000 toys. All of the toys have been made in China or Taiwan. Will there be a change in where the toys are made?

In a recent article in the International Herald Tribune by Donald Greenlees titled Toy Industry Tries to Regain Parents' Trust, the author summarizes the articles stating that it

"is unlikely to see any fundamental change in where toys are made.Despite the product scares of 2007 and the prospect of higher costs, toy companies say there is no realistic alternative to China.Philip Shoptaugh, who owns the Oakland, California-based Shoptaugh Games, an educational toy maker, said China's toy industry infrastructure and labor rates still give it a big edge over alternatives "I think there are probably a lot of shoppers who made an effort over Christmas to read the box and say 'it's made in China, I won't buy made in China this year,"' he said."But having said that, are you going to pay twice as much for a doll because it's not made in China? The thing is you cannot make these products in the United States and have them be competitive on the shelf."

After hearing of all the toy recalls last year and the problem products (like antifreeze in toothpaste) from China, I decided to ban all toys from China in our house. I looked at all the toys in our house and found ONE made in Germany - all the rest - China. So I started looking for alternatives - and for some toys there are definitely alternatives. But while we may be willing to pay more for toys not made in China - in some toy categories there just aren't good alternatives.

In starting SmartToyChoice.com, I read a very interesting book called A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni (which you can purchase for $16 through the Amazon link on our website.) A story about a family's struggle in going an entire year without buying products made in China. It was amazing to me to realize what all comes from China.

While it doesn't look like there will be a change in where the majority of toys are made, in the end, I decided I couldn't completely ban China. I definitely look at labels (especially toothpaste) and when I can buy out of China, I definitely do. As a result, I feel like I am at least now making an informed decision when I buy toys.

Yet Another Recall Affects Our Family

As we finish opening our new toys for the holidays, a recall impacts our toys received LAST Christmas. Today the CPSC issued another recall that will require me to take the fifth toy away from my children this year. My 2 year old's favorite building blocks - the Read To Me Tot Tower by eeBoo was recalled today for a choking hazard. Only 170,000 Tot Towers were part of the recall so it will probably not make the nightly news. It is fortunate that through my work with SmartToyChoice, I knew to remove this toy from his toy chest.

Tougher toy recall standards

Yesterday Governor Spitzer of New York called for the federal government to toughen its recall rules. New York state officials found recalled toys on store shelves in Albany and New York City. This is true across the country and online. The fact is recalls are voluntary, not mandatory. Retailers are not required to check their inventory for recalled products or remove them from store shelves. Claire found a recalled toy at a toy store just a few weeks ago. It is important to be careful when purchasing a toy but we also need to be vigilant after a new toy comes home. The government's recall system works but only if parents have the information they need.