Toy Recall Question

[LaraW]

I have a question regarding all of these toys that are being recalled. I am confident that we do not have any of the toys that have been recalled in our home, but I don't know about daycare.

I am wondering if anyone is considering getting their kids tested for lead levels. I just ask b/c I have a 19 month old son who is really oral - in that everything still goes into his mouth.

Am I just looking for things to worry about? Is this an easy test to do? My thought is that it would involve a blood draw which could be difficult/traumatic for him but gosh - I just hate to think about the alternative.

[clairea]

Lara, my kids are beyond the age that I am worried about the current toy recall. However, when they were young we lived in a really old house. Even though I was incredibly vigilant about painted surfaces, I went through a period when I got very worried that somehow I had missed some flake of paint somewhere. I had both my kids tested for lead, and it was easy. Obviously a blood draw is going to be a bit traumatic, but probably no more so than a shot. They do not need a lot of blood - more than a heel or finger stick, but just one of the small lab tubes. The results were back in a few days, and it took a huge weight off my mind. I think if you are are worrying about it, it is probably worth getting the test done. Sure, there probably isn't going to be a problem, but honestly there are enough things to worry about as a parent and if you can knock this one out pretty easily you might as well, KWIM?

[HRJ]

In Massachusetts, kids in day-care (at least in day-care centers, I don't know if the rule applies to home-based day-cares) are required to have lead tests every year, up to age 4, I think. So Victor has had lead tests, and, as Claire said, all they involve is a "moderate" blood draw.

I'll be honest, when he was very little, he screamed his head off when they took the blood, but it got better as he got older, and, the whole thing was over pretty quickly. Of course you never like to see (or hear!) them scream or cry, but the cause was worth it, IMHO. I think if your DS is really oral, you should talk to your pedi about having it done.

Just last night, DH pointed out an article in the paper about Spongebob address books and journals being recalled because of lead -- we don't have any of these, but it's just starting to seem like you can't trust anything made in China, and it seems like almost every inexpensive item in the world is made there these days! What do we have in our house that *hasn't* been recalled yet? Plenty, I'm beginning to suspect. We had the Sarge "Cars" toy that was recalled, and some of the Thomas trains. On the one hand, Victor was never much for putting non-food items in his mouth, and I'm not worried about him doing that at this point, but, OTOH, I can't imagine that having all this lead around, in the environment, can be good for our kids, or for any of us. What is going on here? :mad:

Sorry for letting that rant slip in there!

Anyway, have you asked the day-care about their toy inventory? I hope they can assure you that they have also checked for tainted toys.

Helene

[mrswaz]

Anyway, have you asked the day-care about their toy inventory? I hope they can assure you that they have also checked for tainted toys.

Helene

Lara, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to ask the day care about their toys. If there are concerns there, then I'd get a blood test, but first I'd check to see about the toys at the day care in the first place.

[LaraW]

:o

It never even occurred to me to ask daycare about their toys. Good idea, I will do that.

In the meantime I did leave a message with our doctor to find out about testing.