Toxic Toysby Myra Turner | More from this Blogger 05 Dec 2007 09:11 AM Shopping for gifts for kids just got a little bit harder. In a test of over 1200 toys, 35% contained lead, including a Hannah Montana card game and a Go Diego Go! backpack. The tests were performed by a coalition of environmental groups and is available for perusal here. Of the toys tested a mere 20% had no trace of lead or other harmful chemicals. 23 of the toys listed had been recalled this year. Jewelry products were among the toys most likely to contain high levels of lead. Federal standards dictate that a toy should not contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm), the Hannah Montana card game came in at a whopping 3,056 ppm! According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 40 ppm is the recommended level of lead for any product. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, seizures, coma and death. The recent rash of recalls makes me want to give everyone a good book and call it a day. This year for Christmas Tyler has already been warned not to expect a bunch of toys. Instead he's getting big ticket items. For instance, he's getting a new TV for his new room and a computer. I bought him a few odds and ends months ago and that's basically it. Christmas is becoming too commercial anyway. And when you add the stress of having to figure out if the toy is safe, well, I don't think it's really worth all of the added stress. Maybe we should go back to handmade gifts. Or what about no gifts at all? Seriously, I was reading about a couple who instead of buying gifts for their kids, use the money they would have spent to take the family on nice trips instead. Perhaps skiing, or renting a house on the lake. The point is they get together as a family and they have fun. The couple pointed out they are less stressed because they don't have to worry about buying gifts that the recipient may not like in the first place. See also: Don't Let Danger Dampen Your Holiday Spirit Learn more about Myra Turner  I'm a proud mid-life single mom with an active seven-year-old son, Tyler. Relevantparenting tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags lead poisioning, toy recalls, toxic toys Discuss this article
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