The Giant Toy Recall - Parents Behaving Irrationally
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September 12th, 2007
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Much has been written about the recalls of Mattel's Chinese made toys. But I'm surprised not having read more about parental duties and logical thinking. The story about toy recalls is a great example of irrational fear, lack of parental accountability, crappy toys, and naive thoughts about production of Chinese toys (and other products).
Lead paint in toys is not a good thing, why does it occur? Easy, it makes toys look better, last longer, and cheaper to produce.
No children have died because of these toys, as far as I know, which is great. I doubt any kids will ever die regardless if they treated their Dora toy like a piece of chicken and ate some lead paint. Parents seem terrified of even having a Mattel toy in their house because the sheer presence might kill every child within a three block radius. They are rushing down to nearest doctor to get a blood test because their child looked at the toy three months ago.
It's called irrational fear. Of course we should make sure our children have safe toys but can parents please put this in perspective? A parent collects all Mattel toys at home and drives down the local store to return them and feels great about being so safe and responsible. That the child is riding without a car seat and seatbelt down to the store is not noted. Neither is that car accidents is the leading cause of death for children in U.S. In 2005 alone, 1451 kids 14 and younger died in car accidents and a stunning 203 000 were injured. Must return that ultra dangerous toy immediately since it will kill us all.
Does your child ever go to a friends house where there is a pool or perhaps for a dip in the local lake or neighborhood pool? Of all 1-4 year olds who die each year, 26% do so from drowning. That's one in four and amounts to maany hundreds of children just in the U.S. Yet, few parents think abut this and instead panic about some toys with lead paint. They might even leave their child at their friends house, who has a pool, while they drop off those dangerous toys. Ironic isn't it.
I mention these silly statistics only to put the toy recall in respective. Lead can be dangerous but virtually everything your child does will be far more dangerous. Just being at home, with no Mattel toys present, is one of the most common reasons for child injuries nationwide.
Parents also seem to have forgotten about what toys to buy. Most buy cheap plastic crap that blinks and make noise. Preferably with lots of batteries and of course made in China. How about a quality toy for a change? Perhaps occasionally a wooden toy? There is a reason people Europeans don't worry about the recalls. Less people buy all the crappy plastic toys. Real toys cost a bit more but last longer and is of higher quality. Plus they are usually not made in China. You kind of get what you pay for. I don't knit our own toys or make them out of virgin wood flown in from the Brazilian rain forest, I just try to buy stuff with some common sense.
I must also ask if parents don't feel accountable for what their kids are playing with? Can we please use some common sense, again? Some parents mentioned their young kids being very "oral". Totally understandable. But if your child is sucking on the same toy 18 hours a day, don't you freaking look at what that toy is made out of? Our 12 month old daughter puts all kinds of crap in her mouth. But if she would be drooling on the same item all day and all night, I would make sure it was the safest toy you could ever find. No painted plastic crap out of China. You're the parent, you're responsible.
How come the Chinese seem to be producing cheaper stuff than anyone else? Are they smarter and figured out some magical formula to mass produce just about anything. Of course not. They sell lots of products for several reasons, none of them good.
China is a country run in dictator style, without unions or any protection for workers. If you work 100 hours a week and don't like it, you'll be fired in a best case scenario. They might put you in prison for complaining or they might just force you to work 100 hours a week. Or maybe 120. You have no rights. It's not difficult keeping prices low when an employer can do whatever needed. They also use child labor and don't give a crap about pollution or any other environmental law. There are other reasons as well but if you avoid all rules, cheap stuff can be produced. Anyone who is surprised about their cheap stuff is naive. Of course no other country can compete under those conditions. Should people boycott Chinese made products. Of course not. I don't think it's even possible since they make so many products.
The Chinese production mentality reminds me of Russian thinking. Try to cheat every way possible and admit nothing until you've been proven wrong. No matter what the consequences are.
Just use some common sense, buy quality toys, act rational, and be accountable for what your children play with. You're the parent, don't blame everyone else.
We haven’t had to return any toys because, well, we didn’t have any of those that were recalled.
As for workers in China, it’s not just the Chinese government putting them in that position. It’s the multinational corporations that outsource for those products and pretend they have no control over how workers are treated. Many, if not all, multinationals belong to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which regularly fights against unions and workers’ rights in “outsourced” countries and at home.
Many people have horribly skewed perceptions of risk. The risk of drowning that you mentioned is the perfect example.
A house with a pool is roughly 100 times more dangerous to a child than a house with a gun. But people treat the scenarios exactly opposite.
While I agree with you on China and the reason they are able to produce such cheap toys and, as a parent, I would totally pay more for a safe toy.
While lead may not kill children, it does have serious consequences for children under the age of six - when the neurosystem is still developing.
This article talks a bit about that.
http://www.nsc.org/issues/lead/healtheffects.htm
I don’t think anyone replaces my responsibility as a parent to make sure my child is safe but I do think we have some levels of trust with household name companies. Just like I expect the food I pick up at the grocery store to be safe to eat, the toys I purchase for my children to play with should be safe too.
Just my two cents!
Check the recall list. some of the wooden toys like “ABC blocks” (or LEAD blocks)are coated with lead paint too! There are a few others also. CHECK THE LIST!