Dads Weigh In On Toxic Toys

It's not just moms who worry about toxic toys, and it's not just lead that makes toys toxic. SciFi Dad - MBT's Daditorialist - weighed in recently on the latest scare in toys...

Fewer than 50 days before Christmas, a retail toy market that has suffered through multiple recalls was dealt another blow when Toronto-based Spin Master Toys' hot new product Aqua Dots was recalled because they were coated with a chemical which, when ingested, metabolized to gamma hydroxy butyrate - or GHB - the date rape drug. GHB can cause a variety of symptoms including drowsiness, coma, and even death.  According to the report, five children have been treated so far, with no fatalities, although there have been reports of non-responsive comas.

In August, after the second lead paint based recall, I wrote:

As trite as it may sound, this is the price we pay in North America to have cheap merchandise.  The reality of the economics of our world is that to produce a toy for the price (the majority of) consumers are willing to pay, North American labour proves too expensive.  Instead, countries with lower costs of living, lower standards of employment, and generally poorer working conditions are used to provide us with goods.  In short, I argue that to produce a toy held to North American safety standards requires it to be made in North America, by a North American workforce - and that subsequently the cost of producing that toy results in a retail price that exceeds what the market will bear.

However, this time it is not a lower standard that has created a problem.  This is a poorly tested, poorly researched toy.  The product is a collection of small beads of various colours, intended to be arranged into specific shapes and/or designs, and then sprayed with water to form a solidified decorative item.  (Think: those small plastic tubes that one arranges on a peg board and then irons over to create a design; only without the iron.) The operative words in that description are "small beads".  A toy company is marketing to children, little humans who explore everything, usually at some point with their tongue and/or the inside of their mouths.  To market a toy like this, one that clearly has been chemically treated to allow them to adhere together when wetted, without researching the effects of combining those chemicals with those naturally found in a human mouth or stomach is irresponsible.

In the article, a toy consultant is quoted as saying,

"This is something that they could not have foreseen. This is an extremely hot toy. ... It's a little scary,"

He got it half right: it is scary.  However, I think they could have foreseen a kid putting something small in their mouths.

To read more SciFi Dad, you can go to Tales From The Dad Side.

Fewer than 50 days before Christmas, a retail toy market that has suffered through multiple recalls was dealt another blow when Toronto-based Spin Master Toys' hot new product Aqua Dots was recalled because they were coated with a chemical which, when ingested, metabolized to gamma hydroxy butyrate - or GHB - the date rape drug. GHB can cause a variety of symptoms including drowsiness, coma, and even death.  According to the report, five children have been treated so far, with no fatalities, although there have been reports of non-responsive comas.

In August, after the second lead paint based recall, I wrote:

As trite as it may sound, this is the price we pay in North America to have cheap merchandise.  The reality of the economics of our world is that to produce a toy for the price (the majority of) consumers are willing to pay, North American labour proves too expensive.  Instead, countries with lower costs of living, lower standards of employment, and generally poorer working conditions are used to provide us with goods.  In short, I argue that to produce a toy held to North American safety standards requires it to be made in North America, by a North American workforce - and that subsequently the cost of producing that toy results in a retail price that exceeds what the market will bear.

However, this time it is not a lower standard that has created a problem.  This is a poorly tested, poorly researched toy.  The product is a collection of small beads of various colours, intended to be arranged into specific shapes and/or designs, and then sprayed with water to form a solidified decorative item.  (Think: those small plastic tubes that one arranges on a peg board and then irons over to create a design; only without the iron.) The operative words in that description are "small beads".  A toy company is marketing to children, little humans who explore everything, usually at some point with their tongue and/or the inside of their mouths.  To market a toy like this, one that clearly has been chemically treated to allow them to adhere together when wetted, without researching the effects of combining those chemicals with those naturally found in a human mouth or stomach is irresponsible.

In the article, a toy consultant is quoted as saying,

"This is something that they could not have foreseen. This is an extremely hot toy. ... It's a little scary,"

He got it half right: it is scary.  However, I think they could have foreseen a kid putting something small in their mouths.

To read more SciFi Dad, you can go to Tales From The Dad Side.

Comments

[R2K]

Ahh boobs.

[WhyMommy]

OH! This makes me so mad. I was mad before, but you hit the nail on the head -- children put small things in their mouths. Like beads. All. the. time. To add this kind of chemical to the bead itself? Simply irresponsible.

Now how am I supposed to get to sleep tonight?

[Lynn]

Another option for holiday purchases, in light of all the recalls... buy handmade by local USA artisans. There are lots of cool plush toys, wooden toys, blocks, and other fun things to be had on Etsy.com.

Seriously, and I'm not even plugging my own shop, which sells stuff for grownups.

I've seen some amazing childrens' toys there.

Buy handmade, and support artisans who aren't part of the corporate conglomerate.

[Jane Little]

Even my husband took one look at that toy and said, "Looks like candy, I'd eat one." It should have been a no brainer that normal kids who eat paste, crayons and put sticks in their mouths long past the age when they should "know better" would try colorful little beads at one point.