I know, I know. Sitting innocently in my child’s playroom is a pile of brightly colored, ticking time bombs. Having read Jyoti Thottam’s story in this week’s TIME, “More Trouble in Toyland,” I should be nauseous with the fear so familiar to my generation of neurotic parents:
Mattel’s recent recalls of more than 19 million toys–including a Sept. 4 warning about lead paint in 675,000 accessories for its iconic Barbie dolls–were the largest in the history of the world’s largest toymaker and have put the entire industry on high alert. “This year’s recalls were not a happy thing for us,” says Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association (TIA), a trade group whose 500 members make about 85% of all the toys sold in the U.S. Even companies that haven’t been hit with recalls are scouring their production lines for problems, and testing labs say they have been deluged with work. “We’re looking at everything right now,” says Wayne Charness, a senior vice president at Hasbro.
I read with relief that the most recent recall involved Barbie accessories. Mika hasn’t yet discovered the busty blonde babe. But we own at least a half-dozen things on this list on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site, the most helpful I found because of the product photos. Both Elmo and Dora the Explorer have played important roles in my only child’s circle of imaginary friends.
The more I read, the more I’m starting to freak out. Check out this piece, also in this week’s TIME, by Claudia Wallis, one of our star science reporters, titled “When Lead Lurks in Your Nursery.” I don’t know about you, but I’m finding the experts simultaneously reassuring and totally alarming. Dr. Courtney Mann, the director of WakeMed Children’s Emergency Department interviewed in the News & Observer of North Carolina, starts off on a calming note:
“Since chronic lead poisoning typically requires long, regular exposures, parents should not panic if their child has been playing occasionally with a toy recalled due to lead paint,” she said.
Then, this:
However, lead poisoning can be serious. Lead is a heavy metal that, when ingested by children, can cause developmental delays and behavior problems. In cases involving acute, large amounts, lead can cause seizures, or even death.
Mann said that younger children, especially those 3 years old and younger, are more at risk of lead poisoning.
“The younger you are, the more susceptible your brain is to the toxins found in lead,” she said. Still, if an older child has played with one of the recalled toys, parents should call their doctors to determine whether a blood-lead test is necessary, Mann said.
Symptoms of lead poisoning include irritability, loss of appetite, weight loss, sluggishness, abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation.
Gah!
Here’s what I know I need to do:
a) Print out the list of recalled toys from Mattel’s web site.
b) Match it to the product numbers on the toys in Mika’s playroom–at night, when she won’t catch me and put up a stink.
c) Pack the toys up in a box.
d) Attempt to return to Mattel for the promised credit.
Two dollars says I get to step C this weekend, then poop out at the refund stage. More anxious–or thorough–parents than I would also buy one of the lead-testing kits now heavily advertised online and carefully weed through the toy chest. I think I’m just going to get a large Glad bag and toss stuff that’s Made in China.
So thanks, Mattel, for giving working parents just one more freakin’ thing to obsess about not getting to yet. I watched CEO Bob Eckert’s apology video on Mattel’s site, but I thought this version on YouTube, placed by an org called Mediacurves, was more interesting: the graph running over Eckert’s face shows his level of believability as gauged by the audience. Interesting note for you HR/PR/executive coach types: his credibility spikes when he talks about his feelings, and dips when he outlines the concrete steps Mattel’s taking on the fiasco.