Consumers Union is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves.
If you are left feeling a bit scared and confused shopping for children this holiday season, you are not alone. So far this year there have been tens of millions of toys recalled due to lead paint, small magnets, or toxic chemicals.
Consumers Union has 12 shopping tips that will help families enjoy a safe and merry holiday:
- Do not buy metal jewelry – especially cheap metal jewelry – for young children. About 20 percent of children’s metal jewelry has high levels of lead lurking beneath the surface coating. A child who mouths or accidentally swallows a piece of lead-laden jewelry can suffer lead poisoning.
- You can test toys for lead by using a home lead test kit. Although they are not always accurate, a positive test result indicates a high likelihood that the product you’re testing has lead. Consumer Reports recommends the Lead Check and the Lead Inspector, which performed best in our tests.
- Be careful of toys with magnets. Many toys have small magnets that can fall out and, if swallowed, can cause serious health problems that are hard to diagnose. Don’t buy toys with magnetic parts that are small enough to be swallowed.
- If you find loose, small magnets anywhere around the house, track down the source. Immediately take the product and any of its other magnetic components away from your child and contact the manufacturer and the Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.CPSC.gov.
- Avoid no-name products and be careful of toys purchased at dollar stores, street fairs, vending machines, thrift stores, or yard sales.
- When purchasing arts and crafts materials, stay away from permanent paints and markers. Look for water-based paints and glues. For a child under three years old, purchase age-appropriate material that your child can’t swallow rather than small foam pieces or small pom-pom balls.
- Look for the age grading on toy packages and purchase only age-appropriate toys for your child. The age grading not only relates to play value but also to safety.
- Some toys may be inappropriate for your toddlers and babies. Toys labeled for children 3 and over may have small parts that can be a choking hazard for children under 3 years old. If you have children under 3 don’t buy a toy with this warning label.
- Do your own safety check to determine if your child’s toys are choking hazards for young children. If his or her toy fits through a toilet-paper tube, it is a potential choking hazard. The government-approved test for choking hazards is done with a smaller tube. The more stringent toilet-paper tube test helps you keep questionable toys out of your child’s hands and mouth.
- Beware of toys that can be broken into smaller pieces such as chalk, crayons, or caps from markers. They can pose choking hazards to toddlers and babies.
- Small balls, tricycles, and balloons are the leading causes of death attributed to toys. Balls less than 1-3/4 inches in diameter can pose a choking hazard to young children. Balloons were associated with more than 110 deaths since 1973. Children can suffocate while trying to blow up a balloon or while chewing on or sucking a balloon.
- Before you shop, check recent toy recalls at www.recalls.gov and at www.notinmycart.org. You can also sign up for automatic recall notifications at www.cpsc.gov.
As you know, the holiday shopping season kicked off last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. And, Consumer Union Safe Shoppers hit the streets. We kicked off our 12 Days of Safe Shopping by holding four simultaneous events in Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston and New York. ( Click here to see photos and more!)
On the 12th day of Safe Shopping CU will be holding a huge event downtown San Francisco. If you would like to join us, email me, Morgan, (jindmo@consumer.org)!
Or hold your own event! We have small groups of concerned shoppers all over the country receiving Safe Shopper kits (tee-shirts, stickers, coupon books and our 12 safety tips).
In Montana, a local group, the Montana Mamas, is holding an event at a local meeting place, moms, dads and other concerned shoppers will come out and get stickers, coupons, tee-shirts and our 12 safe shopper tips.
Would you like to organize an event like them? All you have to do is tell me the details and I will FedEx you a kit for your event. Even if it is getting a group of friends together to go to a local mall, or to hand out at your work or at a house party – just let me know (jindmo@consumer.org). The kit is completely free and we will keep giving them out as long as we have materials. All we ask is that you snap a few photos and let us know how it went!
I live near SF. What do we do at the event ? I am interested .
In terms of safety for children concerning high levels of lead found in toys – manufacturers should be responsible for testing all children that were sold these toys to make sure of the level of their contamination. Furthermore, the manufacturers should be responsible for any and all medical costs related to the children’s exposure.
American companies need to take more pride in their products than they do. It’s amazing how turning a profit for some companies is more important than our American families and children.
Where do I find a lead testing kit? Are all products from China unsafe for Americans?
You can find lead test kits in most major hardware stores or order them online.
Here’s a link to the specific types we recommended after testing the test-kits ourselves.
Here’s a detailed discussion of the limitations of these kits and why we recommend you use them anyway.
PLEASE everyone check prelit trees, wreaths & holiday lights for the very small tag WARNING of the exposure to LEAD & other chemicals known (to the State of California – Prop 65) to cause cancer & birth defects by handling these items. Imagine it suggests washing your hands after touching…It was on our tree, our angel, and two sets of lights! If you find it – get rid of it and COMPLAIN! Complain to the store, the manufacturer, your state politicians – anyone who will listen. Have a safe Holiday!
What are the dates the 12 days are running? From? Until?
Is there any additional information online about the “kits?”
Thanks!
It started the day after Thanksgiving and is still going, there’s still time if you want to be involved. I was part of the event in San Francisco this week. Basically you just take the coupon books with you while you’re shopping and rip out a page from the book and hand it to the cashier or the store manager.
The coupon asks them:
Right now it’s not illegal to sell recalled products! Some stores are doing a good job to post notices of recalls in the aisles or by the checkout counter. But in other stores you can’t find them. Retailers need to do a better job in taking all recalled products off the shelves quickly. And should pledge to stop lead once and for all in all children’s toys!
I had to throw out a lot of my daughters toys..it is sad. I am not allowed a refund, to get her toys to replace the others!
That’s terrible! Can you trust that all toys that may contain lead have warning labels on them? Should everyone go out and get their own lead testing kit?
I have used some of these tips and they worked pretty well for me. I am glad I stumbled onto this blog of yours.
informative post.