I hope everyone had a great weekend! I was able to de-stress this weekend, relax and eat great food.

My husband and a co-worker both sent me an article about more toxins found in Chinese childrens’ toys, my calm demeanor, gathered over the weekend, went completely out the door.  The article is about about Cadmium being used in childrens’ toys instead of lead. Here is the article from The Washington Post (written by Justin Pritchard):

“Cadmium is a soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in soil. It’s perhaps best known as one half of rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, but also is used in pigments, electroplating and plastic.

Lab testing organized by The Associated Press shows that it also is present in childrens’ jewelry – sometimes at eye-popping levels exceeding 90 percent of the item’s total weight.

Most people get a microscopic dose of the heavy metal just by breathing and eating. Plants, including tobacco, take up cadmium through their roots and people absorb it during digestion or inhalation. Without direct exposure, however, people usually don’t experience its nasty side: cancer, kidneys that leak vital protein, bones that spontaneously snap.

Cadmium is particularly dangerous for children because growing bodies readily absorb substances, and cadmium accumulates in the kidneys for decades.

“Just small amounts of chemicals may radically alter development,” said Dr. Robert O. Wright, a professor at Harvard University’s medical school and school of public health. “I can’t even fathom why anyone would allow for even a small amount to be accessible.”

Recent research by Wright found that as cadmium exposure increased, kids were more likely to report learning disabilities.

Dr. Aimin Chen of the University of Cincinnati’s medical school also has studied how cadmium affects young brains. While lead is the heavy metal most associated with harming cognitive development, Chen has concluded that cadmium lowers IQ even more than lead – though cadmium isn’t harming the average American child because the typical exposure is not as large as lead.

Scientists don’t know how much cadmium it takes to kill a child. The only child’s death attributed to cadmium that AP found was a nearly 3-year-old boy from Toronto. According to a case study published in 1994, an autopsy showed his brain had swollen; the researchers concluded his exposure came from items around his home such as paint pigments, batteries or cadmium-electroplated utensils.”

There is a price to pay for cheap. There always has been. Now we see it directly linked to our health, our children’s health and our families safety, over and over again.

This morning one of our merchants wrote to me talking about the struggle she has on a regular basis in trying to keep up with products made in China. She is afraid she is going to have to close down part of her business to keep up. Her company makes organic clothing, they hand design the art on the clothing and use only water based paints for the art. She designs her own products and lives and works in America. She is accountable and conscionable. Yet, she is in jeopardy of being severely damaged by a country that puts Cadmium and lead in our childrens’ toys, and by companies who allow it. Does this seem wrong to anyone else but me?

I have read a lot about parents struggling because their children want items that are mass marketed and not necessarily good for them, or aligned with the parents beliefs and it is hard not to give in. If I may, let me suggest something:

Instead of giving in to our children when they want items that are questionable for their safety, or health why not teach them this lesson: Show them that it is important to make choices that are healthy and safe. Our children will follow our leads if we guide them. I know in our family my granddaughter wants to do things that are healthy for her, she wants to eat food that is healthy and exercise because that is what her mom and grandparents do, and what we teach her is right for her health and safety. Can you do the same with your child? Instead of giving in, or just saying “No” why not talk to your child and tell them your concerns that there might be harmful ingredients in the product. Talk to them about what these are, about the importance of buying things from companies and countries you can trust. Then show them alternatives. You will be teaching them the value of demanding quality, not only for their health and safety but for the support of companies who have consciences.

Do you think you could talk to your child/children and explain to them the value of having a few less toys but them being good, safe toys, made by companies who care about them, and their development?  Is it worth trying to start teaching them to demand quality not price? Are you as outraged as me over all of this continual news about Chinese manufacturers?

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Tags: chinese toys, organic toys, toxins