I recently read an article called "Toys Recalled" by Howard Pankratz, and it was a little shocking how many toys were being recalled. It surprised me how careless some companies can really be. In just October, there were toys recalled with lead paint in them. Most of these toys were made in China. Last Wednesday, the Toy Safety Commission recalled a very popular craft set named Aqua Dots. Aqua Dots is composed of beads that were coated with a chemical that can be extremely dangerous if swallowed. It was estimated that 4.2 million Aqua Dots were recalled. A 20-month old boy who happened to swallow some of the beads went into a coma after digesting the dots. Most families with two or more kids aged 3 or younger say that they throw away about 15 toys a month! The commission has been criticized by various federal legislators, including Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat.
What Matters: I think what really matters from this article is that all of these toys that are dangerous shouldn't even be on the market before they're tested over and over again. Why not take the extra couple of days and really test your product to the maximum to make sure every thing is safe? Sure, it may take a couple extra days and a couple extra bucks to actually make sure your toy isn't going to hurt any children. Honestly, is it that hard to make sure that your toy doesn't have poisonous lead on it? I wonder if the manufacturers of Aqua Dots even tested for lead paint before putting the toy on the market. What ever the case may be, I found it extremely bothersome that this slipped by the company that produced Aqua Dots.
How this affects me: I wouldn't say this affects me directly, because I don't put toys in my mouth anymore. However, I have three younger brothers, one of which still chews on toys, and I would hate to see him get hurt because of a stupid little toy.
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