Addie Bleu

noreply@blogger.com (About Us) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:18:00 +0000

Recalls for excessive amounts of lead used on toys continues to be an issue. Most recent recalls include Easter toys from Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. of Oklahoma City, toy puzzle sets sold exclusively by QVC and toy airplanes cars and motorcycles from S.U. Wholesale of Vernon Calif., are all on the recent list of recalls.Legislation has been brought to both the House and the Senate, but the heart of the problem remains that products are inadequately tested before they reach the market. And, until pre-market testing is mandated, problems will continue. What is needed is a strong U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission that has the power – and the money – to oversee product safety.
On March 6, 2008, the Senate passed CPSC reforms. A committee will now work to synchronize current House (H.R. 4040) and Senate (S 2663) versions of the reforms before being sent to the President. The reforms are meant to establish consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children’s products and to reauthorize and modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If this is an important issue to you, you are encouraged to write your Senator and ask him/her to pass the strongest bill possible to protect your children.

Easter Basket Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (About Us) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Easter is upon us and many of us are looking for basket ideas other than chocolate. Of course, one or two high quality chocolates are always appreciated! But, to fill that Easter basket with gifts that your child will enjoy long after the chocolate has melted, we’ve perused the web site to give you a few ideas.

Monkey Bean Toys has a variety of Easter gift ideas for your children. The ever-adorable Jellycat Bunnies are perfect for all ages. Also for the younger ones, the Furnis Mix Bunny Hand Puppet – three bunnies in a basket. As always Monkey Bean Toys has a $5.95 flat shipping rate, and free shipping for orders over $75.

Craftsbury Kids sells a felt ball set. The balls, which are 3” and 2.75” in size, are handmade using Fair Trade practices, and are easy to grasp for small children – they’re great for indoor play!

For the tiny ones, Tiddley Widdley features the Anne Claire petit Baby rattle $28

KangarooBoo has several different Vilac cars on sale, along with a wooden yo yo and fun frog and ladybug spin tops.

Finally for some truly adorable stuffed animals – bunnies galore – check out StuffedAnimals.com

There is no need to worry about filling those baskets – there are lots and lots of creative gift ideas on all the web sites

TIA Statement Regarding HealthyToys.org

noreply@blogger.com (About Us) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:16:00 +0000

A quick Google search of safe and healthy toys may land you at a web site HealthyToys.org. Upon investigating the site, I found that the Toy Industry Association (TIA) views the report from HealthyToys.org as misleading. According to the press release, the TIA states that, “the mere presence of inaccessible substances in trace amounts does not mean a product is harmful.”
While the toy industry is committed to ensuring the highest standards are met during production of toys, how can we, as parents, not be a bit skeptical? While I truly believe that their intentions are in the right place, how swiftly are they acting to this current crisis? How diligent are they (really) to ensuring the toys they produce are free of harmful chemicals? Up until recently, I assumed they were taking those precautions.
So, what does all this mean to parents? We just have to be that much more diligent in our choices. I don’t think we have to be paranoid, but we have to make better choices. And if that means taking the time to search for toys that are truly made with the child in mind (those made using strict safety standards, along with those that inspire imagination rather than serve as a marketing tool to promote well-known TV characters) then I will definitely find the time.
Yes, that may mean fewer toys in the house, but we can’t we all benefit from a bit less clutter (in our homes and in landfills)? And, won’t our kids benefit as their imaginations are at hard at work when playing with a doll, car, or game that isn’t in some way connected to a television character or fast food chain?

To read the full release, and to find out what the toy industry is doing to ensure the safety of toys, you can visit the TIA web site.