Monday, February 11, 2008

Playing with Danger

Its Holiday shopping season again, and as a consumer be cautiously consider the safety of products especially toys that we will buy for the kids. Pencil Cases, Paint Brushes, Metal children’s jewelry. Snow and sand castle kits. Some store owners find themselves fielding a lot of questions about toy safety from the customers. People do ask questions like “Do you have any toys that weren’t Made in China? As I roam around 2 toy stores, I can say “very few”. Check the labels, almost everything is made in China. There are some that are made locally.

Here are the top list of worst toys to buy during Holiday season according to WATCH ( World against Toys Causing Harm); Aqua Dots, one of the most recently recalled toys of 2007, which saw 25 million toys under 70 brands recalled for safety issues, including lead paint and other toxic materials. Aqua Dots, colored beads used in kid’s craft projects were found to contain toxic chemicals that convert to a dangerous “date-rape” drug when ingested.

There have been at least two reports of children swallowing the beads and slipping into a temporary comatose state. Some familiar name on the list: Dora the Explorer lamp, Go Diego Go Animal Rescue Boat, Jack Spurrow’s Spinning Dagger, Spiderman 3 New Goblin Sword. There are also some lesser known toys, like Sticky Stones, magnetized iron ore stones that could be choking hazards.

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