UPDATE: Maybe I am not overreacting and toys really do need to return to the basics. Mattel recalled over nine million more toys this morning. Read more on MSNBC. View the complete list of toys on the Mattel Consumer Relations website.
Sing With Elmo’s Greatest Hits – Recalled
There goes the playroom…again! First, it was Easy-Bake ovens. Then it was the recall of over 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Now, Fisher Price takes its turn. Whoever thought Big Bird, Elmo, Dora the Explorer, Diego, and other character toys would be a safety hazard? Last week the toy company recalled almost one million toys due to lead-contaminated paint. So what do all of these toys have in common? All of them were manufactured in China, but is that all we should be worried about?
According to the Wall Street Journal, China makes about 80 percent of toys sold in the United States and recently their track record is tarnished. However, I don’t know that consumers should hold the rising recalls as China’s complete responsibility. Yes, they did make defective, harmful goods which is unacceptable; however, the quality controls that the effected companies have in place failed too. Mattel, Inc., the parent company to Fisher Price, is known for their unparalleled inspection standards and something still slipped through the cracks. As a consumer and parent, if I can’t trust the old stand bys than whom can I buy from? Maybe I am overreacting, but I am beginning to wonder if we should all revert back to previous generations’ use of pots, pans, and Tupperware as play toys.
The toys affected would have been purchased between May and August 2007. Review the complete list including pictures of Fisher-Price toys recalled on the Mattel Consumer Relations website.
