The Stay at Home Mother

If you remember in one of my recent blogs and in my column - I wrote about the dangers of lead contamination in paint used on Thomas the Train toys (which we had five of, and had to send back).

But with the two latest recalls by Mattel (and on a much larger scale - 18,000,000) it has spurred on Ottawa to take a closer look at safety standards - and possible new measures to protect Canadian consumers...

The New York Times even reported that some vinyl baby bibs from China have paint with three times the acceptable limit of lead. And who knows how many other items are in our homes right at this moment that contain this hazardous paint? And what about all those "cheap" toys that our children receive at Birthday Parties, Dollar Store, etc. that we think are so cute - but know are poorly made. Those companies will not provide any recalls - because it is too expensive.

But even if we become smarter with the cheap toys - what about the expensive ones like Thomas the Train, and Dora, etc? We pay more for safety - thinking that those toys are more trustworthy - however, now we see that what really matters to these big toy companies, is the almighty dollar and staying competive in the marketplace- and in doing so - have lost sight of what REALLY matters - and that is, our children's safety.

There are even problems with magnets in these toys that can dislodge from some of the toys and if swallowed, can create a blockage in a child's airway. It has now been revealed that China knew about problems with magnets on Toys as long as March this year.

I'm not going to stop examing this topic in my blog - but invite other concerned moms to voice their opinions on this recent epidemic. And perhaps we can organize an open letter to Mr. Harper - that tells him in no uncertain terms that we REFUSE to accept anything less than a complete overhaul of the imported items coming from China and the saftey standards on toys for our children.

For a list of the recent recalled items from Mattel visit www.mattel.com.