Aqua-Dots Recalled

[mrswaz]

This one sounds pretty scary. It's on my kids wish lists this year. I guess I'm glad I hadn't purchased it yet.

Toys linked to date rape drug (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21678196/).

[Terri_A]

I had just bought this about a week ago and put it away for Christmas. I'm so glad I didn't opt for giving it to her right away!!! Although the weeone is well beyond putting things in her mouth, it's going back to the store today.

I don't even know what to think about the toy industry anymore. They make things for our KIDS! We use top of the line car seats and bik helmets and every safety thing available, but we never think of their toys as being potential killers. It's a sad day that now we have to.

[jmarie]

I have to wonder about all of these recalls.

Are the Chinese manufacturers really this stupid? Do they use these ingredients on the toys for their own children? Are they still using lead based products on their own goods?

Is this an effort to harm us? What is the deal?

[KristiB]

Re: Chinese products. It's just the price we pay for living in a "Wal Mart make it as cheap as we can" world. If China had the same manufacturing and work standards as we do here things would be a lot more expensive and Americans would complain about the price of toys. It's easy to blame the Chinese but we should also look at the bigger picture.

Yes they use it in their own goods and no they are not trying to harm us.

Did I mention my neice and nephew are getting books and videos this year?

[cookinprogress]

Re: Chinese products. It's just the price we pay for living in a "Wal Mart make it as cheap as we can" world. If China had the same manufacturing and work standards as we do here things would be a lot more expensive and Americans would complain about the price of toys. It's easy to blame the Chinese but we should also look at the bigger picture.

Sounds much like our food supply, and how we ended up with the cheapest, most processed, chemical-filled food anywhere. I know cost is an issue, but I really do wish more people would be willing to spend more for certain things which are really important.

[DeeK]

I have to wonder about all of these recalls.

Are the Chinese manufacturers really this stupid? Do they use these ingredients on the toys for their own children? Are they still using lead based products on their own goods?

Is this an effort to harm us? What is the deal?

I don't think that they are out to harm us. I do think, however, that their standards for manufacturing are not consistent with ours. I think there are a lot of countries that don't worry about physical dangers, pollutants and chemical hazards of manufacturing in the same way that we do. I don't think that China is the only country with inspection violations (for lack of a better description). I'm sure if other countries' manufactured goods were held under the same microscope, we may find the same issues.

I saw some really cute small loaf pan baking dishes at A. C. Moore. They had seasonal pictures painted on them. Turned them over ... yep, made in China. I didn't buy them. I don't want to take the chance that my food would be sitting on lead-based paint. So, it's not just kid's stuff you have to think about.

[mrswaz]

S. I know cost is an issue, but I really do wish more people would be willing to spend more for certain things which are really important.

There is the key to the problem, imo. We live in a society of "gotta have it all"- instead of just picking a few high-quality things at a higher price point, we gravitate to the philosophy of more for less. I know I do it myself- probably almost subconsciously. And while I know I would rather buy my children just a few high-quality toys versus a whole toybox full of cheaper ones, it's so easy to get caught up in the frenzy.

[jmarie]

Yes they use it in their own goods and no they are not trying to harm us.

Thanks for clarifying this for me. As I now understand this, it was not intentional.

I heard a broadcaster just say that the Aqua Dot was a great toilet training toy for her boys because they would put them in the toilet and the boys would aim at them...end of story.

I can see all of your points of view on how this is happening and I have to agree with you all. It just seems to me, like we would send over a list of banned ingredients like, lead based paints? How new is that problem? Shouldn't they already know about this?

Joyce

[SDMomChef]

I had not heard about this recall! My kids love this toy, but fortunately, they are well beyond the age of putting anything in their mouths.

[RecipeGirl]

Great to know! How awful about all of these recalls. I'll definitely be paying more attention to things made in China. Watching where baking pans, etc. are made is probably a good idea too. You can't be too safe.

DS has been talking about Aqua Dots every time he sees that commercial on TV. Thankfully, I didn't succomb to the begging!

[Robyncz]

I think there are two different issues. The AquaDot issue is, I think, a bizarre and unexpected chemical that would have happened if the company had manufactured over here, too. I could be completely misunderstanding the issue, but I think it's a big chemical fluke.

But the lead paint recalls have to do with cheap materials and manufacturing shortcuts. And we can blame that on the Chinese or on the toy makers, but in the end, we the consumers are responsible for demanding the cheapest possible prices at any cost. I honestly feel like this is the result of the Walmart economy we have created. And the only way out of it is demanding higher quality, which will come at a higher price. And it will require that we as consumers adjust our attitudes about purchasing. Instead of continuing to buy more and more cr@p for less money, we have to demand better stuff, but likely purchase less of it. . .

[emncar]

I was surprised to see that plastic sandwich bags I've been using everyday for my kid's lunch is made in China. Made me think twice about using them.

[potato_moose]

I was surprised to see that plastic sandwich bags I've been using everyday for my kid's lunch is made in China. Made me think twice about using them.

That's the problem, everything is made in China these days! I contemplated putting up my DD's toys that were made in China, but they all were--even the so-called high end toys like Melissa & Doug and Thomas the Tank Engine. It scares me to death, but I can't very well take all of her toys away just in case. I have to add, too, about the Wal-Mart economy thing, what I deal with is a lack of choice in the marketplace. I want toy manufacturer's to charge more for their toys, and produce higher quality toys for the money, but they just don't. I get so frustrated looking for toys on-line for my 9 year old nephew--everything I look at on Amazon gets disappointing reviews, and yet I rarely see a toy that I wouldn't be willing to pay more for if it got good reviews.

ETA I think all this has as much to do with the profit margins companies' shareholders have come to expect as it does with Americans' expectations of how much things "should" cost. If they can manufacture a toy for .50 and sell it for $10, that's more profit than manufacturing a toy for $10 and charging $15.

[mgs]

I went to our local high end toy store a few weeks ago - The Ark - and saw a wooden toy fire engine which was the exact same Tonka Toy 100th(?) anniversary edition engine I bought a week earlier at Walmart.

the thomas the tank engines were re-called for lead paint. Manufactured in China. there are plenty of american made trucks and trains that look like Thomas (wooden, but no faces) you just have to look on-line. Also that means you have to pay more and pay for S&H. OR you have to go to some outrageous boutique toy store that over prices everything.:rolleyes:

[Grace]

It just seems to me, like we would send over a list of banned ingredients like, lead based paints? How new is that problem? Shouldn't they already know about this?



Of course they know about it. The problem is, the laws we have here in the States don't apply to foreign manufacturers. It is the responsibility of the company here ordering from China to check and make sure they follow the specs they are given (IMO). The Chinese manufacturer is going to try and make as much money as he can. They will use the cheapest stuff they can find knowing that their end product likely won't get tested (for lead, whatever) and no one will know. There's no possible way at this point to test every single item before it gets shipped over here or to test it at the shipping dock once it is here. So a lot of it is run on faith that they followed the rules that were set out for them.

And I'm sure some of the companies that order from Chinese manufacturers are complicit in the sense that they turn the other way and don't want to know. I mean, they send out their items for bid. They want it produced for the lowest possible cost. The guy that bids the lowest gets the contract because the company here that sells it also makes a bigger profit if their manufacture cost is lower. One would expect big companies like Fisher Price to perhaps send a representative over there to inspect or to at least be more concerned (because they have a bigger reputation to protect), but the little toy manufacturers probably don't care one bit. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if Fisher Price secretly didn't care either. Although I would consider that really, really dumb considering they have so much to lose.

[TKay]

Crud. Ds has been begging for Aquadots for months. It's his birthday today and I have the starter set wrapped up in the closet to give him tonight. Like I said, crud! :mad:

[Laurielee]

I think, a bizarre and unexpected chemical that would have happened if the company had manufactured over here, too. I could be completely misunderstanding the issue, but I think it's a big chemical fluke

Thats what I thought yesterday, but then this morning the news said the Chinese mfg company substituded the glue. The originally designed glue was non-toxic.

Laurie

[Beth]

TKay, what a bummer, but you can tell him it is better to find out now than to have just given it to him and have to take it back -- or to have aproblem.

It sounds to me like the kids don't have to eat the beads or put them in their mouths to have a problem. If I understand it correctly, the kids make things out of them and then spray wth water to fix them and that's when the reaction causes the formation of the danrgerous drug. If they handle the wet items and put their fingers to their mouths, they could ingest it that way too. And who knows whether the chemical can be absorbed through the skin. I don't. My kids are older, but I wouldn't take a chance on it even for an older kid at this point.

[Robyncz]

Thats what I thought yesterday, but then this morning the news said the Chinese mfg company substituded the glue. The originally designed glue was non-toxic.

Laurie

Oh man! Thanks for clarifying.

[TKay]

My kids are older, but I wouldn't take a chance on it even for an older kid at this point.

I think the same thing. It's going back even though ds will be six and isn't one of those kids who puts stuff in his mouth. Oh, well. Better to be safe.

[mrswaz]

DS has been talking about Aqua Dots every time he sees that commercial on TV. Thankfully, I didn't succomb to the begging!

This morning I definitely noticed the absence of the Aquadots commercials. It seems it's been replaced by Moon Sand. Now that looks like fun to me.

[SDMomChef]

This morning I definitely noticed the absence of the Aquadots commercials. It seems it's been replaced by Moon Sand. Now that looks like fun to me.

My kids also have moon sand, and they had a great time with it.

[DeeK]

the thomas the tank engines were re-called for lead paint. Manufactured in China. there are plenty of american made trucks and trains that look like Thomas (wooden, but no faces) you just have to look on-line. Also that means you have to pay more and pay for S&H. OR you have to go to some outrageous boutique toy store that over prices everything.:rolleyes:

Or....your child really doesn't want the plain (Brio-type) train ....s/he wants Thomas because then it looks like the TV train.

Sometimes our children want the "branded" item and it's hard to say no to every request.

My kid is 25 so far beyond buying toys for him, but it has to be hard for today's parents of young children to decide WHAT to buy. You centainly don't want to deprive your children of having the fun "IN" toy, but you don't want them to get ill from their toys either.

[Chefzhat]

I don't think that they are out to harm us. I do think, however, that their standards for manufacturing are not consistent with ours. .
Actually, toys that are manufactured overseas SUPPOSEDLY under specific design requirements from the USA which include specifics as to chemical makeup and safety standards. The standards in place in China should have nothing to do with it, it is only our standards that they are supposed to be meeting. Supposed to.

Lets all not forget to look long and hard at the toy companies that are failing (it seems) to do the appropriate due diligence and quality control on their products made overseas. There's lots of blame to go around here.

[RecipeGirl]

This morning I definitely noticed the absence of the Aquadots commercials. It seems it's been replaced by Moon Sand. Now that looks like fun to me.

He's been bugging me for Moon Sand too. Darn those commercials!

[Terri_A]

He's been bugging me for Moon Sand too. Darn those commercials!

Moon Sand Rocks! The weeone got that last year for Christmas.

[Grace]

Actually, toys that are manufactured overseas SUPPOSEDLY under specific design requirements from the USA which include specifics as to chemical makeup and safety standards. The standards in place in China should have nothing to do with it, it is only our standards that they are supposed to be meeting. Supposed to.

Lets all not forget to look long and hard at the toy companies that are failing (it seems) to do the appropriate due diligence and quality control on their products made overseas. There's lots of blame to go around here.

Yes, exactly. That was what I was trying to say in my post above, but you did a better more succinct job.

When they send it out to bid, the manufacture specs are clear and detailed. The Chinese manufacturers then go out and "secretly" change to a lesser priced material so they can maximize their own profits. The company here on this end "believes" (I use this term loosely) that the toy has been manufactured to their specs which were clearly outlined. But no one checks to see if that's happened or not. The companies here are legally obligated not to sell toys that are dangerous, per the laws written about that. So while we can blame China if we want, it's the American company's job to make sure the toy on the shelf, bearing its name (i.e, Fisher Price) is manufactured correctly before it can be distributed and sold. I wonder if there are laws about that on the books already - I imagine so. I imagine that consumers could potentially sue these companies if they had damages (sick kids, etc.). But like many other industries, the cost of settling law suits is probably less than the cost of making sure everything is manufactured properly, so they just choose to turn the blind eye and settle out of court when those cases arise.

That being said, I think all these recalls now must be costing a mint, and I imagine things may start to change now..... we'll have to see I guess.

[RecipeGirl]

Wow, I was talking with the moms at school pick-up today, and my friend was talking about Aqua Dots. She says that her 4 year old daughter has had Aqua Dots for a few months now, and she often put them on her lips. I guess they stick easily to skin so it was fun to stick them on and walk around with dots stuck to her lips. Thank god she didn't swallow them.

[Missi]

Anyone else think teenagers might try and get their hands on these to experiment with the drug? Perhaps I am jaded by my job (I'm a juvenile probation officer) but part of me wishes they had just issued the recall and said if swallowed the dots would be poisonous instead of GHB.

[emncar]

Anyone else think teenagers might try and get their hands on these to experiment with the drug? Perhaps I am jaded by my job (I'm a juvenile probation officer) but part of me wishes they had just issued the recall and said if swallowed the dots would be poisonous instead of GHB.

That was my first thought as well. I kept thinking that they shouldn't have reported what the effects were, just say it was possibly toxic.