DC Metro Moms

Sippy Cups and Burgers

We moms do our best to keep our families safe.  But in light some recent safety news, I think my family is going to go find Saddam Hussein's worm hole and take up residence there.

Not that I have to worry about toxic chemicals leaching out of sippy cups anymore.  PunditGirl is way past that stage.

When she was a toddler, I thought I was being a conscientious mom by providing her with chlorinated water, sugar-free fruit juices and organic, low-fat milk.  But apparently, there's a good chance all those drinks were contaminated with toxic chemicals that have been linked to diabetes, breast cancer, and a whole host of other diseases I really can't think about right now.

At least the food we're eating isn't contaminated, right?

I knew I liked her

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that is.  Check it out.  Her very own blog post on keeping our kids safe from toxic toys.

Let’s help her out, by adding our names to the Moms Rising petition to tell Congress “We demand safe, lead-free toys for children. Congress must strengthen the agencies responsible for protecting kids from toxic products and remove the bureaucrats who are standing in the way.”  I just did.  If you’re a U.S. resident, maybe you’d like to sign it too.  Moms standing together for the kids.

I like the sound of that.

Take Action: More Toy Testers!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with testing the toys that our children play with every day, has only ONE toy tester on staff.  I was outraged to hear this, and, by your comments on my last post and the other posts in the blogosphere today, many of you are too.  What can we do to fix this?  Here's a five-minute solution:  write, email, or call your congressional representative and ask him or her to increase the funding for the CPSC and/or specifically to direct the CPSC to "add additional staff to test our children's toys for lead paint, small parts, and other dangers."

Only have one minute?  Go to Consumer Union at http://cu.convio.net/FixTheCPSC, fill in your contact information, add a sentence or two to the beginning of their prewritten letter, and click to send it to your congressperson.  You don't even have to know who your representative is or his contact information -- it's all done automatically (by your zip code).

Take action today.  For our kids.  Because it's easier than prying Thomas, Dora, and Elmo out of our kids' hands later.

How safe are our toys?

I’m becoming increasingly concerned and frustrated about the safety of my children’s toys.

Ever since Widget was born, I have bought and advocated for the purchase of wooden and natural toys.  We buy responsibly, from small firms or those who have repeatedly assured moms and the public that their testing is frequent and thorough.  We make many of our own toys, out of pieces of scrap wood (okay, Grandpa makes many of those); PVC pipe and connectors; ribbon, yarn, boxes, and similar “found” materials, both to reduce our environmental load on the planet and my children’s exposure to the plastic crap that dominates the children’s toy market these days.  They also fit my bias towards toys and materials that encourage my children’s creativity, encourage them to ask questions, and can be used three ways.

We weathered the great Thomas Recall of ‘07, the Polly Pockets Debacle, and the Sesame Street/Elmo/Fisher Price Roundup with only limited damage.  Limited in our case meaning one measley James train and a stop sign were collected, declared “sick,” and sent to the “hospital” to be fixed.  All our other wooden trains are Ikea or Brio, so we felt pretty good about our trainyard escaping relatively unscathed.

That is, until I learned that the CPSC, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, has exactly ONE full-time product tester on staff.

Are the Chinese importing Jail-Birds?

I have really had mixed feelings about the almost weekly massive toy recalls thanks to our toys being imported from China. You've heard me before wonder if it's a little too much Chicken Little for KT's tastes.

And what with the third recall last week, frankly, I was beginning to tune it all out a little bit more.

At the end of the day, as I gaze at the Sesame Characters with their hats and shoes gnawed off by my darling toddler daughter, I wonder - how much lead is too much? What's a little lead REALLY going to do?  Fortunately, an industrious reporter over at Salon took the time to dig a little deeper and answer some of my questions.

Lead Paint Lunacy

Did you hear about the latest toy recall?  This time, it's GeoTrax trains and Barbie dog houses.  Ah, a little something for everyone. It's been quite a summer of lead paint scares, hasn't it?  Every couple weeks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission adds new dangers to its list; Mattel, Fisher-Price, or a lesser-known toy company issues a press release; and parents everywhere scurry to check the playroom for the dangerous toys.  A Thomas the Train Engine here, a Sarge jeep there, Polly Pockets over here; it sure adds up.

Pretty soon, we'll all be playing with wooden toys and sticks again.