Tegu, the toymaker of these engaging magnetic blocks, aims to create safe non-toxic toys and is devoted to addressing unemployment and fostering entrepreneurship in Honduras, where the blocks are made.

Over the past few months, I’ve been hearing from increasingly more moms about their children’s high levels of lead. Most recently, I’ve been hearing about children in modern buildings having high levels of lead. For some reason, I had the impression that lead was an older issue, mostly a concern in older homes. I’ve been surprised to learn how pervasive it still is, recently hearing that it has been found in our (NYC) drinking water, some Pottery Barn ceramic dinnerware, reusable grocery bags, and many toys!

Toy companies are not required to divulge what’s in their products

Yesterday’s LA Times had a great article, Before You Buy That Train Set, Do Your Homework by Amanda Leigh Mascarelli, recommending that parents research their potential toy purchases.

Many of the 80,000 chemicals used in manufacturing are used in toys and other children’s products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for protecting the public from hazards in consumer products, regulates only 14 chemicals in toys: eight heavy metals and six phthalates, which are used to soften plastic. The phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive and developmental abnormalities in animal studies, have been restricted only since 2008. Toy companies, unlike food manufacturers, are not required to divulge what’s in their products.

A ghoulish fake eyeball toy made in China was recalled after it was found to be filled with kerosene. Sets of toy drums and a toy bear were also recalled because of lead paint, and an infant wrist rattle was recalled because of a choking hazard.

– “As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China” in The NY Times online, by Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza, June 19, 2007

Ms. Mascarelli continues: The U.S. government has since adopted a handful of regulatory measures to hold companies more accountable and to tighten restrictions on the use of toxic substances. But there are many toxic chemicals in toys that are not regulated at all, says Rachel Massey, a policy analyst at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell and a coauthor of a November study on gaps in regulation of toxic substances in toys and children’s products. Cases highlighted in the media for violation of standards are just “the tip of the iceberg,” she says.

Toy Recalls in the Media Are Just The Tip of the Iceberg…

Ms. Amanda Leigh Mascarelli, writes: “Most famously, in 2007, Mattel — the largest toy company in the world and the brand behind such household names as Ken and Barbie — recalled more than 2 million toys that were in violation of the U.S. standards for lead in paint. The total recall count that year because of lead paint violations: more than 17 million.”

Lead causes permanent brain damage. Lead exposure — even in relatively small doses — has been linked to learning disabilities, behavioral problems, reproductive issues, even violence.

Beware of Toys Made in China

A NY Times article in 2007, As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China, stated: “Over all, the number of products made in China that are being recalled in the United States by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has doubled in the last five years, driving the total number of recalls in the country to 467 last year, an annual record… It also means that China today is responsible for about 60 percent of all product recalls, compared with 36 percent in 2000.”

China manufactured every one of the 24 kinds of toys recalled for safety reasons in the United States so far this year, including the enormously popular Thomas & Friends wooden train sets… The toys were coated at a factory in China with lead paint, which can damage brain cells, especially in children.

– “As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China” in The NY Times online, by Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza, June 19, 2007

Tips for Buying Safer Toys

Ms. Mascarelli offers a great summary of tips that are below. Please visit her article for even more information: Before You Buy That Train Set, Do Your Homework by Amanda Leigh Mascarelli.

• Avoid buying costume jewelry for children. As lead has come under closer scrutiny, cadmium is increasingly being used as a substitute for lead in paint, toys and children’s jewelry. Cadmium is a neurotoxin and carcinogen that children can be exposed to when they handle, suck or swallow the product. In January, the CPSC recalled a large quantity of children’s costume jewelry because it was found to contain high levels of cadmium.

• Avoid purchasing vinyl products, also known as PVC (for polyvinyl chloride) when possible. These are several times more likely to contain hazardous additives compared with other plastics, says Jeff Gearhart, research director for HealthyStuff.org, a consumer product testing website. Items made with synthetic leather, such as kids’ baseball gloves, often contain vinyl. Vinyl products may also include certain balls, children’s bracelets and other rubbery and flexible items.

• Inspect the plastic labeling and product packaging and look for the familiar triangular recycling symbol containing a “3″ with a “V” underneath the symbol. The labeling is not universal but is used on a significant number of vinyl products. Flexible, rubbery plastic products that emit a distinct odor are often good indicators that the product contains a vinyl plasticizer, Gearhart says. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice has a PVC-free guide.

• Don’t buy brightly colored plastics when purchasing items that a young child might put in his or her mouth. Despite the recent tightening of federal regulations, these plastics could contain cadmium, lead, organotins or other toxic pigments or stabilizers, Massey says.

• Consult sites such as Healthystuff.org and Goodguide.com to find out if certain toys contain brominated flame retardants (BFRs) — found in baby products, such as mattress pads, and toys, such as dolls, swords, action figures and ones made of foam and rubber. BFRs have been linked to a number of adverse health effects, and one family of BFRs is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Healthystuff.org and Goodguide.com both screen for bromine, which is a likely indicator of BFRs. Choose products that have low or no bromine content.

• When buying toys that contain textiles or leather garments, be conscious of “azo dyes,” which are widely used in the textile and leather industries. Azo dyes can form cancer-causing compounds when inhaled, absorbed through the skin or taken up by the gastrointestinal tract. Unfortunately, since these chemicals are not regulated, the best way to avoid them is to select toys made of wood and natural products, or toys that bear eco-labels, which are becoming more widespread. When buying a textile product such as a doll or stuffed animal, look for a European eco-label such as Oeko-Tex, which can be found in some specialty toy stores. The European Union has much stricter regulations on toxic chemicals than does the U.S.

• Choking on toys, toy parts, balls and balloons is a hazard for children younger than 3. From 1990 to 2007, 196 children died after choking or asphyxiating on a toy or toy part,, according to U.S. PIRG, an umbrella consumer-advocacy organization for individual state Public Interest Research Groups. Use an empty toilet paper roll to test whether a toy or toy part may be a choking hazard. If the item passes through a toilet paper roll, it is too small for children younger than 3 or children who put toys in their mouths.

Also watch out for parts that are barely larger than this industry standard, because children have choked on parts that are larger, says Elizabeth Hitchcock, public health advocate for U.S. PIRG. “We always caution parents to really look hard at a toy, take it out of the box and use it before they put it in the hands of their child,” Hitchcock says. “See if there are parts that will break off, and don’t just rely on the label.”

• Do not buy products bearing the California Proposition 65 label with wording similar to this: “Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

• Avoid toys containing small magnets that can be swallowed. When ingested, strong magnets will attract to each other and can cause serious internal injuries.

• Though these are few and far between, look for toys and children’s products that have labels indicating what ingredients were used to make them.

• Check out lists put together by groups that have conducted tests on toys. Healthystuff.org (www.healthystuff.org), run by Ecology Center, a nonprofit organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich., does independent testing on a range of consumer products including toys, providing snapshots, available online, of potential chemical hazards. Healthystuff.org has screened more than 5,000 toys since beginning its testing in 2007. It uses an X-ray technology to look for hazardous substances, but the technology can’t detect all chemicals of concern. It ranks products by level of concern based on about 10 priority chemicals. GoodGuide.com ranks products, including toys, based on (among other things) environmental and health effects.

• Among the toy recalls, the problem is most acute with low-price, no-brand-name toys that are often sold at dollar stores and other deep discounters, which are manufactured and sent to the United States often without the involvement of major American toy importers. Last year, China also was the source of 81 percent of the counterfeit goods seized by Customs officials at ports of entry in the United States — products that typically are not made according to the standards on the labels they are copying. (“As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China” in The NY Times online, by Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza, June 19, 2007)

• Toys made in China make up 70 to 80 percent of the toys sold in the country, according to the Toy Industry Association, which represents most American toy companies and importers. (“As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China” in The NY Times online, by Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza, June 19, 2007)
• China’s own government auditing agency reported last month that 20 percent of the toys made and sold in China had safety hazards such as small parts that could be swallowed or sharp edges that could cut a child, according to a report in China Daily. Officials in China, of course, are fighting back, insisting that its food and other exports are safe and valuable, that new regulations are being put into place and that problem goods account for a tiny portion of all exports. (“As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China” in The NY Times online, by Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza, June 19, 2007)

Safer Toy Options

There are some beautiful and engaging wooden toys that are a stimulating and low-toxic option. Some of our favorites are in the Amazon widget below:

Related Content:

• Healthier Shopping Made Easier With This Tool
• Magna-Tiles: An Engaging Educational Toy!
• PlanetBox: The Lunchbox My Daughter Won’t Stop Talking About
• Our New, Double Stroller: UppaBaby Vista 2010
• Healthy Juice: There’s Only One Type That’s Worth Drinking!
• Support Animal Rescue and School Lunches
• Health: The Benefits of Fasting
• Check out The S File’s other Gift Guides: Health, Pregnancy, Household, and Parenting

Soon after my first daughter was born about 3 years ago, I spent a fair amount of money hiring an infant CPR expert to come to our home to train our nanny, my husband, and myself. Learning the CPR skills during this session, after a long day at work, was challenging (my brain and body were exhausted), especially as we approached the end of the two hour session! I had the best intentions to practice afterwards, but I never did. (I was lucky that I never had to test my CPR skills!)

A few months later, a new nanny suggested that I have our CPR skills refreshed. Agreeing, I dreaded the thought of having to spend a few hundred dollars again on CPR training, and our schedules are such that all of us attending a class was unrealistic. As I researched options, however, I came across a wonderful infant CPR kit, created by the American Academy of Pediatrics, that includes a DVD and CPR doll to practice on. For just $35, I get to refresh my CPR skills at my convenience as well as have any new babysitter, nanny, parent, etc. view the video and practice on the doll. This is something that I definitely wish I knew about sooner!

Related Content:

• Our New, Double Stroller: UppaBaby Vista 2010
• Baby Toothpaste
• “The Lost Hour”: Impact of Pushing School Start Time Back By One Hour
• “The Lost Hour”: Impact On Learning and School Performance
• “The Inverse Power of Praise”
• My Favorite Baby Carrier!
• Magna-Tiles: An Engaging Educational Toy!
• The S File’s Gift Guides: Health, Pregnancy, Household, and Parenting

With summer upon us, I have been thinking and hearing more about pool safety. In one of my email mommy groups, a mom shared a good experience with Safety Turtle, a pool and spa safety alarm system. Intrigued, I looked into this product further (and S File™ readers get a special discount!), which led me to read more about water safety and water-related fatalities and injuries. Below are some highlights that I hope will provide useful perspective.

In this write-up:

• Statistics on Water Fatalities and Injuries
• Men and Children are at Higher Risk
• Other Noteworthy Things That I Read
• Drowning Prevention: Implement Layers of Protection
• Water-Entry Alarms
• Water-Entry Alarm: Special Discount

***********

Statistics on Water Fatalities and Injuries

• In 2007, there were 3,443 fatal unintentional drownings in the United States, averaging ten deaths per day. More than one in five fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger. ⁽¹⁾
• For every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. ⁽¹⁾ Nonfatal drownings can cause brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities including memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning (e.g., permanent vegetative state). ⁽¹⁾ Overall, 5% to 10% of drowning incidents result in severe neurologic damage, but such poor outcomes are even more common when the drowning occurs in open-water settings.⁽²⁾

Men and Children are at Higher Risk

Children

• In 2007, of all children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, almost 30% died from drowning. Although drowning rates have slowly declined, fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years. ⁽¹⁾
• The highest rate of drowning is in the 0- to 4-year age group (2.5 per 100 000), and children 12 to 36 months of age are at the highest risk (almost 4 deaths per 100 000). ⁽²⁾
• There is a second peak incidence in adolescence, attributable entirely to a high number of male drowning deaths. ⁽²⁾

Males

• After 1 year of age, males are at greater risk of drowning than are females at all ages. Up to 12 years of age, drowning death is roughly twice as common in boys as in girls, but in adolescents, the rate is approximately 10 times higher for boys.⁽²⁾
• The higher drowning rate for males has been explained by greater exposure to aquatic environments, overestimation of swimming ability, higher risk-taking, and greater alcohol use.⁽²⁾

Other Noteworthy Things That I Read

• In many cases, drowning is a silent event, without splashing or a call for help.
• Among drowning victims younger than 15 years of age, two-thirds of deaths occur from May through August.⁽²⁾
• Drowning also occurs disproportionately on Saturdays and Sundays.⁽²⁾
• The peak time of day was 5:00 to 6:00 PM, and 75% of all incidents occurred between 12:00 and 8:00 PM. ⁽²⁾

Drowning Prevention: Implement Layers of Protection

Until recently, I didn’t know to think of water safety in terms of “layers of protection.” The websites of the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics have good tips on prevention. A summary is below:

• Adult Supervision
• Buddy System
• Avoid Alcohol
• Pool Cover
• Pool Fence
• Pool Safety Alarm
• Lifeguards
• Swimming and Survival Skills Training
• CPR Training
• Do not use air-filled or foam toys
• If you have a swimming pool:
  • Use four-sided fencing
  • Clear the pool and deck of toys
• If you are in or around natural bodies of water, then click here for more.

Water-Entry Alarms

A mom recently emailed a group of moms to say that she had just used a water-entry alarm system by Safety Turtle and had a good experience.

Safety Turtle

From its website: Safety Turtle® is a family of Wireless Alert products designed to enhance security in the home and in the workplace.

Originally introduced in 1998 as a “last layer of protection” for young children near water, the Safety Turtle personal immersion alarm has been adapted for pets, patients doing water physiotherapy, for workers near water hazards, to automatically alert lifeguard rescues, and as a “wireless lanyard” www.powerboatsafety.com to prevent propeller injury with falls overboard. The Safety Turtle wireless gate alarm introduced in 2006 satisfies the need of home owners [and the hospitality sector] to remotely monitor pool and property fence gates.

Click on Safety Turtle to learn more!

Special Discount on Safety Turtle for SFile Readers!

I haven’t tried the Safety Turtle yet but will be seriously looking into it. PoolCenter.com is generously offering readers of The S File™ 15% off any order over $50 for any product in its safety category, including of course, the safety turtle products. Just enter “SAFETY15” at PoolCenter.com. Offer expires August 31, 2010.

Sources:

(1) Source: “Unintentional Drowning: Fact Sheet” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(2) ”Prevention of Drowning”; PEDIATRICS Vol. 126 No. 1 July 2010, pp. e253-e262. 253-e262. Published online May 24, 2010

If you enjoyed this writing, sign up for our newsletter!

More than 48 hours ago (as I write this), on Friday at around 8:20am, I was catching up on sleep from nursing throughout the night. In the kitchen area — at our dining table, our babysitter was with our 2.5 year old and our 4.5 month old.

Our 4.5 month old daughter was on a play mat that was on our dining table (we had been keeping her off the floor since we have two 55 lb dogs), as our babysitter and 2.5 year old read / ate breakfast right next to her. Suddenly, my 4.5 month old rolled off the dining table, dropping approximately 3 feet and hitting the hard wooden floor.

Like most mornings, I woke up as soon as I heard my daughter’s cry.  This morning, like every other morning, my immediate response was to grab my daughter from the sitter to nurse her.  This morning, however, was different.

It took me a few minutes to realize that my daughter did not want to nurse because she had hurt her head.  As soon as I realized that she had fallen off the table, I took her to the pediatrician and we ended up in the pediatric emergency room.  My daughter was soon admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit, where we stayed for the next 36 hours.

My baby girl had an “impressive” dent in her skull, the pediatrician said.  As it turned out, she fractured her skull and had a small amount of internal bleeding.

Needless to say, my husband and I have been emotionally traumatized by the experience.  I continue to be humbled by it.  I’m so deeply grateful that it wasn’t worse and that she is expected to be just fine.

As a friend said to me, this is a wake up call because we naturally become increasingly more bold with our babies.  But, we shouldn’t.  They suddenly reach new milestones at very unpredictable moments.

What I wish I knew sooner is something that I indeed did hear before: never take your eyes off your young children.  It takes just one second for something life-altering to happen.  At her current age and stage of development, I now know that no one should ever take a hand off of her unless she’s on the floor (and safe from our dogs).

During the summer of 2009, a mom from one of my mommy email groups sent an email to the group about a “creepy guy with a back pack full of beanie babies” — and a camera — who approached her young children, while not noticing the mom nearby.  This warning prompted a flurry of email activity.  From this, came a highly recommended book, The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.  The mommy recommendations interested me enough to order and read the book.  It’s definitely a book that I wish I had read sooner.

From the insider cover of the book:

Gavin De Becker is a three-time presidential appointee whose pioneering work has changed the way our government evaluates threats to our nation’s highest officials.  His firm advises many of the world’s most prominent media figures, corporations, and law enforcement agencies on predicting violence, and it also serves regular citizens who are victims of domestic abuse and stalking.  De Becker has advised the prosecution on major cases, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial.  He has testified before many legislative bodies and has successfully proposed new laws to help manage violence.

From the back of the book:

A date won’t take “no” for an answer.  The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling.  A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help.  The threat of violence surrounds us every day.  But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust — and act on — our gut instincts.

In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation’s leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger — before it’s too late.  Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including… how to act when approached by a stranger… when you should fear someone close to you… what to do if you are being stalked… how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls… the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person… and more.  Learn to spot the danger signals others miss.  It might just save your life.

As I read the book, I couldn’t help but have flashbacks to moments in my life in which my instincts were alarmed but I ignored them out of politeness.  I have been lucky so far.  I prefer not to continue to challenge my luck in this regard and this book was invaluable in helping me to be more mindful of safety — which is critical with our children.  It provided me with new frameworks from which to view, interpret, and digest situations.  I believe it is a must-read!

Some interesting figures from the book:

• In the last two years alone, more Americans died from gunshot wounds than were killed during the entire Vietnam War.  By contrast, in all of Japan (with a population of 120 million people), the number of young men shot to death in a year is equal to the number killed in New York City in a single busy weekend.  Our armed robbery rate is one hundred times higher than Japan’s.  In part, that’s because we are a nation with more firearms than adults, a nation where 20,000 guns enter the stream of commerce every day.  (The Gift of Fear (1997) by Gavin de Becker; page 7)
• Neither privilege nor fame will keep violence away: In the last 35 years, more public figures have been attacked in America than in the 185 years before that.  Ordinary citizens can encounter violence at their jobs to the point that homicide is now the leading cause of death for women in the workplace.  (The Gift of Fear (1997) by Gavin de Becker; page 7)
• While we are quick to judge the human rights record of every other country on earth, it is we civilized Americans whose murder rate is ten times that of other Western nations, we civilized Americans who kill women and children with the most alarming frequency.  In (sad) fact, if a full jumbo jet crashed into a mountain killing everyone on board, and if that happened every month, month in and month out, the number of people killed still wouldn’t equal the number of women murdered by their husbands and boyfriends each year.  (The Gift of Fear (1997) by Gavin de Becker; page 7)
• We all watched as bodies were carried away from the Oklahoma City bombing, and by the end of that week we learned to our horror that nineteen children had died in the blast.  You now know that seventy children died that same week at the hands of a parent, just like every week — and most of them were under five years old.  Four million luckier children were physically abused last year, and it was not an unusual year.  (The Gift of Fear (1997) by Gavin de Becker; pages 7-8)

Another mom wrote the following about a different book by the same author:

Hi everyone –

I sent out a book rec a while ago when we were all discussing the creepy guy.  The book was “Protecting the Gift” by Gavin de Becker.  I just finished reading it.

It is a book about how to protect your child from violence (many different types, including child-on-child violence as well as abuse and stranger violence) and I have to say that it might be the most significant, important book I have read on parenting (and as those in our book club can attest, I really like to read…).  It shows you precursors to violence and how to recognize the signs.  It’s a wealth of information and I urge every single one of you to read this book.  Given the subject matter, there are sections that are extremely difficult to read, but the knowledge gained from this book could help you save a child – not just your own, but others as well.

There are valuable resources and questions to ask of daycares, babysitters, doctors, other parents and schools.  This book made me see my role as the protector of my child in a way I never really appreciated.

I know it’s a subject that is so tough to even think about, but I feel so much more empowered after facing this head on and I hope you will too.  If anyone else has read this book and would like to discuss, I’d be happy to participate.

Click below to view some interviews of the author, Gavin de Becker, from YouTube:

My best friend from childhood, Lily, has a son who is 10 days older than my daughter.  Living in FL where her son is almost always near a pool, Lily enrolled her son in survival swim classes.  The most convincing thing I can say is: watch the video below.

This method is offered by Infant Swim Resource (ISR).  As soon as I heard about this from Lily, I immediately identified an instructor in our area.  Although the instructor does not  live or teach in Manhattan, we were able to organize enough children and secure a pool in Manhattan so that we could attract the instructor here.

I recommend that parents look into this.  Although it was a BIG commitment because it is 10 minutes every day, five days per week for several weeks (generally, a total of 3-6 weeks, depending on the child), I’m glad we did it.  If, for some reason, my daughter fell into a pool without anyone noticing, then she now has a chance of surviving!