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When Child’s Play Becomes Dangerous What You Should Know About Toys Now That The Gifts Are Unwrapped Johns Creek resident Gayla Payne’s daughter was delighted to receive Aqua Dots for her 10th birthday last fall. The toy, distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys, was a hot item, topping many “must-have” lists for the 2007 holiday season. But a week after the party, Payne learned something very disturbing: On Nov. 7, 2007, the product was recalled after a discovery that the toy contained a chemical coating that, when ingested, metabolized into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. Small beads in the toy posed a serious threat to young children apt to putting things into their mouths — when swallowed, the beads could cause unconsciousness, seizures, coma, respiratory depression or potentially death, and the Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) reported two hospitalization instances in the United States and three in Australia that resulted from consumption of the item. Payne was alerted about the recall by a neighbor, Katie Graham, whose son, at 3 years old, is highly susceptible to such dangers such as Aqua Dots, and any of the numerous recalls involving lead paint on the surfaces of toys. “Kids chew on everything when they’re little,” Graham said. “What am I supposed to do, throw away the toys and give him sticks and rocks?” Graham’s concerns are validated by the alarming number of recalls in the past year. According to the CPSC, toy recalls jumped from 40 in 2006 to 61 in 2007 (three of which were lead-related and 19 of which were lead-related, respectively). And even those numbers may be a little misleading, considering the CPSC’s statistics are based on a fiscal year instead of a calendar year and do not include recalls issued after Sept. 30, 2007. The Atlanta-based Keenan’s Kids Foundation reported a much higher number. At the release of their annual “Most Dangerous Toys” list on Nov. 19, more than 72 separate toy recalls had been issued since the beginning of 2007. While the chemical coating metabolizing into the date rape drug is an extreme and urgent recall, the majority of recalls actually involve toys with items that can become a hazard when a toy is broken or not used properly. Still, in 2007, an alarming number of toys were recalled due to lead paint, which is prohibited to exceed .006 percent in toys by the CPSC due to the potential dangers of elevated lead levels in children. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), lead toxicity can have adverse effects on nearly every system in the body, and in extreme cases, can cause seizures, coma or even death. Long-term effects in children include mental disabilities and behavioral problems. Lead toxicity is a specific concern for children under the age of 2 because their bodies absorb the lead more readily than an adult. Add to that the tendency for children of this age to put these toys into their mouths, and “it’s sort of a double-edged sword,” said Don Keenan, child advocacy attorney with the Keenan’s Kids Foundation. “Here you’ve got kids who are the most susceptible to toxic exposure who are the most likely to be exposed to it.” With so much media attention circling the lead paint issue, many parents, Graham included, were skeptical about buying Christmas presents for their children this holiday, and others may wonder if all those toys from Santa are safe for their children. Demanding an Explanation Since the current CPSC lead regulations have been in effect since 1977, parents are asking: Why so many violations now? According to the Toy Industry Association, the first wave of recalls in 2007 was a result of inconsistencies in some companies’ testing and inspection processes, which led to retesting by the entire industry, thus producing even more recalls. Though the influx of recalls invariably means too many suspect toys have made it to the market, the bright side to this sordid story is that many of the recalled toys produced by smaller manufacturers might have gone undiscovered if not for the negative publicity showered on industry giants such as Mattel. “Toys are getting more scrutiny now more than ever,” said Nychelle Fleming, spokesperson for the CPSC, which has launched several initiatives to assure parents that it is watching out for the safety of their children. “We’ve increased inspection, and we’ve gone directly to the source where products are being made,” Fleming said, referencing a summit last September with the CPSC’s Chinese counterpart to re-educate them on U.S. safety standards and to encourage the Chinese government to enforce the regulations, as many of the toys on the recall list were manufactured in China, including those by Mattel, which has six lead paint recalls since August. Scared, parents are wondering how these products by beloved toy manufacturers have made it onto shelves, and eventually into our homes. Understanding they must earn back parents’ trust, manufacturers are now promising more safety checks to guarantee their products are safe. And though Mattel in particular is actively publicizing the implementation of a three-stage safety check of paint used in its toys — “We’ve met with vendors to ensure they understand our tightened procedures and our absolute requirement of strict adherence to them,” said Jim Walter, senior vice president of Worldwide Quality Assurance, in a press statement — trust may take some time, considering most parents trusted the companies were complying with CPSC regulations before the scandals. “Sure, they can say they are implementing these new procedures,” said concerned parent Jodi Ward of Alpharetta, “but I thought they were already doing safety checks. Why should I believe them now when it appears that their bottom line is of more concern than my children’s safety?”
A Ray of Hope Although worry may be hard to eliminate in coming months, the concern over trace amounts of lead paint in toys may be diminished when considering the CPSC’s lead regulations are somewhat overprotective, according to Dr. David J. Goo, assistant professor of pediatrics, division of pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “There’s a tremendous safety factor involved in the amount of lead that’s allowable [in toys] and the amount that will cause toxicity,” he said. “Because of the wide margin of safety in the levels of lead, there’s a possibility but very low percentage of real danger of lead poisoning.” According to Goo, the greatest concerns regarding lead have historically been lead paint chips from the walls of older homes, lead particles in dirt due to leaded gasoline and contaminated water from lead in the pipes of older water systems. “Lead continues to be a problem in pediatrics, but on a much smaller scale than it had in the past,” he said. Since the 1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned the use of lead in residential paint, phased out lead in gasoline and reduced the amount of lead in drinking water. Dr. Priscilla Woodhams with Kennestone Pediatrics of the WellStar Physicians Group, agreed. “I’m glad parents know about [the toy issue], but my concern is more of the lead exposure from pipes and house paint,” she said, adding that children under the age of 2 who live in homes built before 1978 should definitely be tested for lead through a simple blood test performed by a pediatrician. “If you’re having problems that would resemble lead toxicity, we would definitely want to get a lead level,” Goo added. “Weakness, headaches, sometimes vomiting. Any non-specific symptoms are associated with lead poisoning.” Unfortunately, lead toxicity most often has no symptoms at all. Still, there are logical ways to know if you need to check your child’s lead level. Goo and Woodhams both insist that it’s not necessary unless you have serious reason to believe your child has actually ingested the lead. “I think [testing] is a good idea if parents have a young child who swallowed a toy or a bead, or if they have toys that are flaking and chipping and they can actually see that the paint is wearing off of them,” Woodhams said. In the instance that a child does have elevated lead levels, there are steps a pediatrician can take to treat the problem. “At the lower level, it’s simply a matter of going into the home, finding the cause of lead toxicity and removing it,” Woodhams said. “When it gets to higher levels, there’s a medication that you give children to remove lead from the blood.” Protecting Your Children If there’s a truly positive side to the recent flood of toy recalls, it’s parents’ increased awareness about toy safety issues. Awareness is what will keep children safe, and just being informed about recalls and researching toys before purchasing are important steps toward ensuring safety. Begin by researching toys on sites like The Keenan’s Kids Foundation at www.keenanskidsfoundation.com. Its “Most Dangerous Toys” list is an excellent resource for concerned parents. “We try to make it clear that the individual toy in and of itself is not the most dangerous, it simply symbolizes the danger that’s in a lot of toys,” Keenan said. Though it’s not necessary to purchase at-home lead testing kits, which the CPSC deemed inaccurate, it is important to pay close attention to other safety factors, particularly the age-appropriateness of your child’s toys. Since the majority of toy related-deaths involve small parts and choking, any items small enough to be swallowed, or those with small, detachable parts, are inappropriate for young children. The possibility of swallowing small parts is especially dangerous when the toy contains magnets, which can attract to each other if two or more are swallowed, causing holes, twisting or blockage of the intestines, blood poisoning or even death. Another common risk involves ride-on toys, so make sure your child is capable of using them, or supervise their use, and follow the recommended age guidelines. If you have children of various ages in the home, keep younger children away from older children’s toys until they reach the appropriate age. Visiting the CPSC’s Web site, www.cpsc.gov, can keep you up-to-date about recalled products, as well as provide an archive of all recalls, in the event toys are passed down or purchased at a garage sale. While manufacturers and the CPSC work closely with retailers to remove recalled products from shelves, they can’t guarantee that they won’t make it to second-hand retailers or places like Goodwill and eBay. The Toy Industry Association recommends inspecting the condition of second-hand toys, making sure you have the original packaging and instructions and purchasing toys from reputable retailers. Enroll in the CPSC’s newsfeeds so pertinent information goes directly to your inbox; the newsfeeds can be specified by categories of interest, such as infant/child products, which also include items such as children’s jewelry that can be just as dangerous, especially when there are small beads that can be easily ingested. If you have a recalled product in possession, dispose of it using the guidelines given in the recall announcement. This usually means returning the product to the manufacturer for a replacement or a refund. If you’d rather be safe than sorry, stick to more natural materials, but beware: even fabric toys can be painted. “If you believe that there is enough paint on a toy, assume that some is lead and don’t use it,” Keenan advised. “There are plenty of toys, there are a lot of wood toys, a lot of pure plastic toys.” Though plastics can also contain lead, Woodhams notes that this is only a concern if the items are ingested, which adds emphasis to the necessity of keeping small toys and parts away from young children who are likely to mouth toys. And lastly, make sure your child eats a nutritious diet. “Good nutrition actually decreases how much lead your body absorbs if you’re getting good amounts of vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc,” Woodhams said. Make sure your child maintains a balanced, healthy diet to safeguard them against the dangerous element, in the event that even your best efforts can’t be prepared for surprising mass recalls like those that occurred in 2007. Here’s to a healthy and safe toy year. PN
For More Information
Centers for Disease Control Consumer Product and Safety Commission Keenan’s Kids Foundation Toy Industry Association |
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