Go on. Just try to Get The Lead Out
Today is just that. Get The Lead Out blog day. As in. Lead in your kids toys. And before you know it. Lead in your child's eating implements. Is that the right word? Anyway. The Parent Bloggers Network is calling today Get the Lead Out Blog day. But how do you avoid it? I rarely buy new toys for my kids and can count on one hand the number of times I've visited ToysRUs this year. But that doesn't mean that the stuff I find at the consignment store is free of lead. It's probably worse because some of it is older and might not be subject to the QA that new toys undergo these days. However, based on the recent recalls (and there have been A LOT of them), I'm pleased to note that we've had only 3 items recalled, and only one of them due to lead paint (Thomas). Can I rest happily applying that average to the rest of our toy collection? I just don't know. Another way to feel secure in the toys your children play with is to be a safe shopper. The Consumers Union site shows you how to do this and I'm definitely going over there to learn. Not just for my kids but for the kids in my family and those of friends. I buy them presents too. I keep myself informed by subscribing to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall email list and that seems to get everything that has been recalled. It's pretty easy and if you haven't already done so, you should. You can go to http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx to subscribe. Maybe we should all go back to playing with blocks and books.