As a child, making a ‘fort’ out of a cardboard box was so simple and
creative! Or, you drew and cut out windows on a huge shipping box and
played ‘house’ with your friends. You made paper airplanes or taped
construction paper together and then scribbled senseless lines with
crayons. Whether your adhesive muse was scotch tape or glue – or you
attempted to do something different with paper clips – there was never a
dull moment with basic office supplies. It was our parents’ decision
whether to keep these supplies out in the open so we could abuse the
hell out of them and NOT play with the dozens of toys they purchased for
us from the toy store.
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| A good old fashioned fort is still one of the safest toys! |
I’m starting to think that parents are better off NOT buying regular toys for their children. Every time you turn around, a small toy part is recalled and pulled from shelves. Big companies and manufacturers don’t seem to think too much about how they’re designing toy guns, dolls and model airplanes/cars. What made Greenbrier International produce “Clingy Darts?” Officials found that the foam missles contain more than six times the federally allowable limit of dangerous chemicals, specifically phthalate – often used in making plastics, inks and paints.
Is it enough to pull toys like this from shelves? It scares me to think that companies are only concerned with making a sale rather than making a product that’s safe for our kids – who could probably do without the toys to begin with! Who needs “Clingy Darts?” Kids in the old days made spitballs out of chewed-up paper, which they’d spew through plastic straws and aim at an unfortunate target. You had to have a knack for aiming the spitball with just the right amount of saliva and oral force. As gross as it sounds, no one recalled the paper or various straws used to make this “toy.”
It’s not just me – toys are becoming more dangerous and less creative. According to SafeKids.org, Walmart voluntarily recalled “My Sweet Love Dolls” because the circuit board in the chest of the doll had potential to overheat, “posing a burn risk to the consumer.” The site also noted a recall of “Grumpy Cat” stuffed animal toys when they found that “the eyes can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.”
You mean to tell me that these simple toys weren’t tested before they
hit store shelves? Dangerous tiny parts, choking hazards and excess
levels of lead/chemicals should be monitored before a toy idea is even
developed.
Let’s get real! They’re not recalling half of the things that children REALLY play with – including those cardboard boxes and office supplies. Many children make ‘toys’ out of things that are more functional for adults. If they ever recalled plastic princess shoes for little girls, have no fear – girls are probably more likely to wear mommy’s heels around the house anyway!
When you think about it – ANY toy can be a hazard, depending on how it’s used. By safety standards, basic toys like jump ropes shouldn’t be sold because kids can choke or strangle themselves. Chalk shouldn’t be on the market because there are kids who like to eat the dusty, colorful chunks and Barbie dolls should be banned because of the inferiority complex it gives young girls when it comes to their own selfimage. The list goes on...and so do the recalls! Companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars consciously producing toxic toys. What are the long-term effects of being exposed to these phthalate-strewn items?
Could the effects be worse than what kids are exposed to every day while breathing in a plethora of possibly dangerous air particles? Before regulating PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) in public schools, students were potentially exposed to carcinogens and other chemicals that reportedly contributed to learning disabilities, allergies and asthma. New York City public schools only recently underwent construction to have lights with PCBs removed. Think that recall’s a little too late? How many students fell ill and suffered the consequences of the Department of Education’s ill-made structures? In 1993, kids in New York public schools missed the first week of classes due to an asbestos scare. Who knew the buildings in which they were learning exposed them to the same chemical hazards as some of their beloved toys?
Gone are the days when chemically safe toys like Tiddlywinks and Jacks sell out on the store shelves.
All I can say is, get the hazmat suits and yellow tape ready – toy manufacturers are on the loose and they’re ready to play dirty!
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