This recent comment came in about the safety of Melissa and Doug toys. I thought her story was important and compelling, and wanted to share it with you. The comment was in response to my posts last year about the recall of Canadian Melissa and Doug toys, and about their general safety now that they are manufactured in China.
Reader Comment, from Anonymous:
"I want to stress to you that Melissa and Doug regardless of their copy pasting email tech who by the way is the same person that sends out each email is full of lead. I purchased for my son last Christmas a barn - yard animal puzzle, which by the way took my teething toddler approximately 1 month to eat the sheep and the cow, took him to the Dr approximately 2 weeks after this episode and my sons lead levels were 14. It required me to have to take him back for a blood draw, removal of all the Melissa and Doug puzzles I had purchased in good will and it took 2 months for the lead to go to regular levels, but still not the best. He had to be tested again a month later.
Don't buy this stuff! Its got lead regardless of what they are saying they are not testing it, it comes from CHINA and is packaged in China which means they have no way of testing these items. We have called our local lead dept and advised them of this but every time I go to the store I find tons and tons of their products on the shelves. Please do not purchase this stuff, it can absorb into their fingertips or they eat it when they eat after playing with the toy. By the way i went to Home Depot and bought a ton of the lead test kits and tested every single item in my house, walls, window sills, all his plastic toys, only thing that came up positive was Melissa and Doug...From Just a concerned Mommy."
What a terrible experience. No child should have a lead level of 14. Please take this in to consideration as you start your holiday shopping.
Thanks, Anonymous for this comment, and I wish you and your son well!
9 comments:
Terrible! No kid should have to go through that!!! What a patient woman, if that had happened to me, my post would be a lot more frantic!
Hope they are well....
i'm so sorry for that reader and her child. i hope things will be okay.
if possible, could the mother comment on how the child's lead levels came down? does lead just finally filter out of the blood and is excreted?
thank you, and God Bless,
Thanks for posting this. I have been thinking of getting some Melissa and Doug products for the kiddos for Christmas. I think this post is a reminder for me to shop USA made when considering products, like painted wooden blocks, that my one year old is likely to put in her mouth! I did read that the company test frequently, but ya never know!
Thank you so much for letting me know. Its so hard to find good quality non toxic toys without ordering online. I thought Melissa and Doug would be a good alternative since its available in most stores but now I know. It makes me so angry to know that a company that makes products for children and babies could sleep at night knowing the toxins on their products!
I found your blog while looking for info on the Melissa and Doug recall that was just announced this weekend. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-23788-Minneapolis-Attachment-Parenting--Examiner~y2009m11d22-Three-Melissa-and-Doug-toys-recalled-in-Canada-for-barium-in-paint
I have found so many stories like this one, unfortunately, and virtually nothing in the news. Another mother reported that she took some of the M&D magnet letters to a free lead testing and they were positive for lead too, and the reps on the phone just pooh-poohed it. It's such upsetting stuff.
~Alicia
Katy,
Did this mother contact U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (www.recalls.gov)? If not I hope that she will report this unsafe product. CPSC is not perfect but recalled products do get a lot of coverage and this is a good way to hold manufacturers accountable. Also does HealthyToys.org know about this? Perhaps they could bump this item up in their testing.
--Kathy K
Thanks for your comments, readers. I was shocked and troubled too that's why I posted this. I know, it is really hard to find safe toys not online. That's why most of my shopping is done that way--. I have my favorite natural and safer product sites I visit regularly. I'll do my annual Gift Guide which will link to some reputable parent owned online businesses.
Kathy K-- I think I will send this post to healthytoys.org, and I encourage the author to get in touch with the CPSC.
Thanks again for your comments! No child or family should ever have to go through this. That is why we need reform in how we manage chemicals and toxins in everyday products in this country.
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