Recall Fever has made 2007 a scary one. And with the hoilday season heading barreling towards us like a runaway train, millions of parents, myself included, find themselves in the precarious positioin of trying to balance holiday gift giving - and receiving - with toy safety, something we've never really had to think about in previous years. Not an easy feat when you consider the fact that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled more
than 70 brands of toys for a total of more than 25 million products. It's enough to make your head spin like an imported, lead-painted top.
What are we going to do? First thing's first: keep up to date with which toys are being recalled at the Consumer Product Safety Commission Page. Be firm with well-meaning friends and family about which safe toys, and toy alternatives, they can buy for your little ones. It may feel a little weird to pass out lists of pre-approved holiday gift ideas, but what else can we do? At this point it's all about our kids' safety, and using our consumer power for good instead of evil.
Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide 2007 is a great site to visit for safer toy suggestions. The Not Quite Crunchy Parent came up with some excellent toy alternatives. The People's Media Company has taken this years top toy trends and united them with cheaper (or free!) alternatives.
Shopping for kiddie gifts this year will require a little more diligence than we're used to, but it can be done. That being said, though, there's never been a stronger arguement for a back-to-basics, gift-free or homemade-gifts-only holiday season... it sure would get the message across that we, as parents, are mad as hell about the incredibly dangerous "toys" being marketed to our kids, and that we aren't going to take it anymore.
