The Dilemma

"It's like a magnet, it goes right to her mouth."

Kesha Gibson Carter is looking at 8 month old Casey who has just put a little toy into her mouth.  "Everything she touches eventually goes right there," Kesha tells me.

The young mom has done her best to keep track of toy recalls in recent months, but any parent would be hard-pressed to keep up.  That's because more than 21 million toy products have been recalled this year.

"That last item made in China that that was recalled a few weeks ago, I heard kids were putting stuff in their mouth and that's how they were getting sick.  Man, I'm glad we don't have that one." Kesha says.

Most parents are aware that what they purchase at their favorite stores will be toys imported from another country, probably China.  It's estimated that at least 85
percent of all toys sold in the U.S. last year were made in China.  No one could say all those toys are unsafe, but most of the millions recalled, especially since summer, are toys that came from China. The recalls are mostly for high levels of lead paint, and small parts or magnets.  And two weeks ago, four million aqua-dots were recalled because they contain a chemical that's put children into comas,

Kesha says as a parent, she certainly wonders about safety.  "When you go out and shop for toys, you just never know if this is one has been recalled or not," she tells me.

American Toys

Some parents are thinking about buying toys made in America this holiday season.  Kesha hadn't thought of that but seemed interested when I showed her several websites of companies I had found who make toys in this country.  We find one site that offers advice on buying "ten lead free toys made in the U.S."

Most of the companies are making wooden toys. One company in Burlington, Vermont is called Maple Landmark.  Its owner Mike Grandville, says he's been getting a lot of orders this holiday season.  "People are interested in what their alternatives are," he says.  "With all the headlines and  people not knowing who they can trust and all the the issues with imported toys, we are a prime alternative.  And so people are coming our way and learning about us now."

I ordered some of Maple Landmark's toys and brought them to Kesha's house.  Her three kids enjoyed the toys. small cars, a wooden train and a log truck with removable logs.  Her 7 year old son really liked the log truck. But Kesha didn't like the price.  The truck alone cost $40.00.  Advocates of American products say prices will be higher because American workers are getting a fair wage.  Still, Kesha said she would have to be convinced that American toys were truly better and safer.  "My children's safety would of course come before how much I pay for a toy," she says.
Their safety comes before how much I pay for it.

I took the American toys and some toys I bought at Wal-Mart to the Central Coast Health District where Judy Hartley tested them for lead.  One American toy (with red paint) tested positive.  Hartley says it's an "acceptable level."  The rest of the American toys were negative.  When Hartley tested the Chinese toys from Wal-Mart, many of them also had low levels of lead.  We did find one small figurine that fit inside a car that tested at a "6" which concerned Hartley because she said it was so small a child could easily swallow it.  "And there was a case in the U.S. not that long ago where a child died from lead poisoning after swallowing a small object like this," she tells me."

Hartley says in her experience the real problem is inconsistencies on the imported toys.  "You will find various levels of lead on the same toy," she says.  I point out to Hartley that the American toys cost $90.00 and I didn't get that many of them, while I bought a lot of toys for $80.00 at Wal-Mart.  And the imported toys, except for the little figurine, really didn't show much problem with lead.  I tell her a lot of parents would save the money and go with the imports.  "maybe, but again, there are inconsistencies with the imports," she tells me.  Hartley says she would feel better about giving her grandchildren the American toys.

Kesha isn't sure what she'll buy this holiday. "I guess you just need to keep a close eye on your children and pray and hope that the toy doesn't have anything in it that will harm them or make them choke," she tells me. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission vs. PIRG

Tuesday, the CPSC issued its annual report on toy safety.  The agency says manufacturers are testing more toys than ever.  The number of toys recalls this year is up 50 percent but CPSC's Julie Vallese says those toys should be off the shelves by now. "The products that are out there have been more heavily investigated than any year past."  The CPSC also says the Chinese government has promise to step up its own inspections to keep lead painted toys from being exported into the U.S.

But that doesn't guarantee some recalled toys don't slip through the cracks, according to the PIRG (Public Interest Research Group.) PIRG says its research shows that  high or questionable lead levels were found in one out of five toys bought right off the shelf.  The group urges shoppers to check the CPSC website for recalls, but also says just because a told is being sold now, doesn't mean it's been tested. "No government agency tests toys before they are put on the market. It's up to you to examine toys carefully," says Ed Mierzwinski from PIRG.

The CPSC does tell parents not to be so concerned about lead -- which builds up over time -- that they overlook more immediate dangers, like choking hazards.magnets, and toys that can cause eye injuries, or burns.  

Parents

While some consumer groups want tougher penalties and assurances of lower lead levels in toys, Kesha isn't sure what she'll buy this holiday. She's thought about buying some of the American toys, but says relatives will probably just go to the store to buy her children holiday gifts.  And she knows toys purchased at major stores all come from China.  "I guess you just need to keep a close eye on your children and pray and hope that the toy doesn't have anything in it that will harm them or make them choke," she tells me. 

If you're considering looking for American made toys this holiday, just click on the links in the special stocking on this page.