Toy Safety: How to Avoid Toxic Toys
December 30, 2008
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT TOY SAFETY FOR YOUR CHILD? Read more here…
We all remember the toy scare of 2007. Finding out that there were dangerous chemicals such as:
* LEAD
* CADMIUM
* CHLORINE
* ARSENIC
* BROMINE
* MERCURY
(to name a few)
present in the innocent playthings we voluntarily give to our children was both outrageous and frightening.
But what has changed since then and how can we protect our children from toxic toys?
The first thing we can do as parents is educate ourselves on how to choose safe and healthy toys.
The best resource I can pass onto you is a website through the environmental working group healthytoys.org (www.healthytoys.org). Here through the generous donations of the public, toys are tested for the chemicals listed above, and are rated for safety on a scale of “low” “medium” “high”.
This site is a great resource for helping you to clean out your old toy bin and get rid of those toxic toys. Healthy Toys is also a great research tool to find toys that are safe for your kids. You would be surprised at some of the ratings (both positive and negative) that the toys receive and you can have a bit more peace of mind about the purchases you make on behalf of your children.
The second thing is to briefly understand the difference between European Toy Safety Standards (EN 71*) and U.S. Safety Standards (ATSM 963*).
* Regarding Chemicals Used in Toys (think the heavy metals listed above)
EN 71: Follows the precautionary principle* which basically means that a substance is banned until proven safe.
vs.
ATSM 963: A product is safe until proven otherwise.
* Regarding More Chemicals
EN 71: Values Natural Materials (i.e. Cotton)
vs.
ASTM 963: Requires the use of flame retardants which contain PDBE’s*. Think of how difficult it is to find pajamas, blankets etc. made of natural materials without flame retardants present.
* Regarding Heavy Metals Testing
Both the EN 71 and the ASTM 963 test for: Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury and Selenium. However…
EN 71: Tests both the surface and the substrate (inside components) of the toy.
vs.
ASTM 963: Tests only the surface and the coating of the toy.
Some of my favorite sites for European standard toys are:
Oompa www.oompa.com
Moolka www.moolka.com
Oompa even has safety statements by each of their manufactueres available right there on their site, so you can get in depth descriptions of the materials these companies use as well as the testing standards they adhere to.
Third, after the toy scare of 2007 and all the bad news about plastics these days it is no wonder that many parents prefer and are opting for toys made from more natural materials such as wood and cotton. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to have all cotton and wood toys. Ride on toys, anything that lights up (which my little girl loves) anything that plays music etc. are all made of plastic. We can however educate ourselves as to which plastics are the safest.
Here is a link to an in depth Plastics Chart which I have put together. In the meantime, please avoid ALL plastics that are made of # 3 plastic or PVC*. Anything that smells “gassy” when you open the package is most likely PVC. It is also recommended to avoid #6 and some #7 plastics as well.
On that note, don’t be fooled. Just because something is made of wood does not mean it does not have chemicals in the paint or in pieces (such as metal), that’s why doing a little research on sites like Healthy Toys can be helpful.
Finally when all else fails email the manufacturer. I can’t tell you how many great toys I’ve found, but when I’ve emailed the manufacturer they do not respond which indicates to me that my concerns as a parent are not theirs as a corporation. Frankly, if they do not have the time to respond to me, I don’t have the cash to support them. I’ve found that if the product is safe and passes my line of questioning:
(“Does (such product) contain:
- PVC
- Phthalates
- Lead
- BPA?”)
then they tend to email me back rather quickly. If not, I usually don’t hear back. For instance, I emailed that above questions to Edu-Shape regarding their textured balls which I see everywhere. I have yet to get a response from Edu-shape, however I did see on Healthy Toys that they contain PVC so I found an alternative that does not made by TOGU on Moolka.
I know what a joy it is to give your child (or any child) a toy they love and are excited to play with. I hope that this article takes away a bit of the anxiety of choosing that toy and gives you a bit more peace of mind.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please feel free to email me at:
pregnancyandbabyinformation@gmail.com
For more in depth descriptions of some of terms used above, please see reference guide below:
EN 71
ASTM 963
Precautionary Principle
PDBE’s
PVC
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