Recall: Monsieur Tse-Tse Organic Doll

Recall Notice

Date February 2008 Product Name Monsieur Tsé-Tsé Full Product Description Organic Cotton Dolls Hazard Identified The metal eyes on the dolls can detach and pose a choking hazard to young children. Corrective Action Consumers are advised to immediately take the recalled dolls away from children. The Monsieur Tsé Tsé dolls with metal eyes can be returned to the original place of purchase, or they can be returned directly to Raplapla Inc. for replacement with a doll with embroidered eyes. Raplapla Inc. can be contacted by telephone at either: 514-660-5217 or 514-574-5217, or by e-mail at info@raplapla.com. Number Sold Approximately 250 dolls were sold in Canada. Time Period Sold The dolls were sold from September 2007 to January 2008. They were sold primarily at independent boutiques in Montreal as well as in Toronto. Manufacturer Raplapla Inc., Montreal, Quebec

Image(s)

Blogged with Flock

US Toy related dealths

(VIA CONSUMERIST)

22 Children Died Toy-Related Deaths In 2006

Toy injuries were responsible for 22 deaths and 220,500 emergency room visits in 2006, according to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The report looked at injuries affecting children under 15 and found that most deaths were caused by asphyxiation or collisions associated with riding toys, scooters, toy pegs, and rubber balls.

Consumer Reports analyzed the full CPSC report:

• Non-motorized scooters: Three deaths occurred when children either hit or were hit by an automobile. The children ranged in age from six to 13 years.
• Toy nails and pegs: Three children died when they choked on or aspirated plastic nails or pegs. One 19-month-old boy died after choking on an oversized plastic nail from a toy workbench. A second boy, 2, died when he fell while running with a toy nail; the nail got wedged in the back of his throat. Another two-year-old suddenly started coughing and stopped breathing. He died at the hospital where an autopsy showed a plastic peg from a toy had become lodged in his left bronchus.
• Rubber balls: Three children died when they either aspirated or choked on small rubber balls. Two of the children who choked on small rubber balls were about one year old while the third child was an autistic eight-year-old who aspirated a rubber ball.
• Powered riding toys: There were three fatalities. A boy, 3, was riding a battery-powered toy four-wheeler unsupervised and fell into a pond. A girl, 2, was riding her battery-powered toy truck as her family walked along on a sidewalk; a speeding car hit and killed her. A 6-year-old died when the cape of his costume became entangled in the axle of the gasoline-powered ATV he was riding and strangled him.
• Tricycles: There were two fatalities. In separate incidents, a three-year-old female and a three-year-old male fell into the family in-ground swimming pool while riding a tricycle and drowned.
• Stuffed toys: There were two deaths associated with stuffed toys . A six-month-old fell off the parents' bed into a pile of stuffed animals and suffocated A three-month-old fell off a bed into a container of stuffed toys and suffocated.
• Other balls: There were two deaths from unspecified types of balls. One struck a girl, 10, while she was playing at school; she died of inter-cerebral hemorrhage. A 17-month-old was run over when he followed the ball with which he was playing as it rolled behind a truck.
• Balloons: A nine-month-old female died of upper airway obstruction caused by an uninflated balloon.
• Rubber darts: A 10-year-old boy died from aspirating a rubber dart. He had been chewing on a toy gun dart when he had trouble breathing and collapsed. At the ER, he was found to have a rubber dart in his right lung.
• Toy organizer: A nine-month-old, found underneath a wooden toy organizer, died of neck compression.
• Unspecified: A seven-year-old boy was chewing on a plastic toy when a small part of the toy broke off and became lodged in his throat. He died of asphyxia.

The CPSC cautions that toys were associated with these incidents, but not necessarily their cause. Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries, Calendar Year 2006 (pdf) [CPSC]
CPSC: 22 children died in toy-related deaths in 2006 [Consumer Reports]

Worst Toys of 2007

The wonderful people at World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) have released their anually "bottom ten" list of the worst toys of the year.  They include:


GO DIEGO GO ANIMAL RESCUE BOAT (recalled for lead)


STICKY STONES (easy to swallow loose magnets)


See the rest of the list....

Aqua Dots Update

A little bit of poking around has yielded some more information about the toxic component in Aqua Dots.  It is called 1,4-butanediol and has the formula HOCH2CH2CH2CH2OH.  This compound is metabolized in GHB.  The version of the toy that was tested contained 1,4-pentanediol, which has the formula HOCH2CH2CH2CH2CH2OH.  While 1,4-pentanediol is not harmless, once metabolized it does not have any effects similar to GHB.  The two compounds differ only in the number of carbon atoms they contain.





As a scientist this is a perfect illustration of the specificity of our enzymes.  One single atom makes a dramatic difference in the way our body responds to the molecules.

This also raises an important point about understanding the dangers of substituting different compounds into consumer goods.  Because our bodies are so sensitive, it is important that we recognize the dangers of many of the components in our consumer goods.  The EU is very far ahead of Canada and the US in the respect, though our federal government has recently shown some movement on this front.

Lead paint and Aquadots... It's Red Bull and Vodka for Toddlers

Hot on the heels of the series of lead paint-related recalls this summer, is something way out of left field. Aquadots/Bindeez have been recalled by the CPSC, and here in Canada Toys R' Us has followed suit. They are still for sale though, and although they have not been formally recalled, the federal government is looking at totally overhauling its toy safety protocols.

The last few month have made me wonder if I shouldn't go into business making wooden toys. My dad made Curious Boy some giant blocks out of untreated cedar - I bet those would be a hit.

As a chemist, this particular toy recall is very interesting. I'm still trying to find out what the compound in the product is.

Fisher-Price Recall: The Lawsuit

Parenthacks and DaddyTypes are all over the Fisher-Price recall of 1.5 million toys, as is just about everyone else. No one, though, has talked about the most important aspect of this.

The Class Action Lawsiuit.

Pet (Felt) Rocks from Molo

Vancouver designers Molo (Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen) have come up with a great new kid/adult toy: felt rocks.





They are made from left over felt reclaimed from the process of making felt polishing wheels.



I think that these are an awesome living room addition. Cool/safe (for the 'rentals) silly/fun/indestructible (for the kids).



They're made from pure wool felt and are hand dyed. They are certainly nicer than just about anything else in this category (ie blocks or Lego).



::molo design via padstyle via TreeHugger





Technorati Tags: molo design, treehugger, felt rocks

powered by performancing firefox

Quel Surprise: Ambitious parents spend on educational toys for toddlers

The Philosopher Mom and I are both in the health/education field and are frankly skeptical of the whole "edutainment" business, but it appears that we might actually be alone in seeing things this way.



In today's IHT, the market-research (shudder) firm In-Stat states that the market for "eductainment" toys from companies like V-Tech and LeapFrog could reach $1.7 billion (yes with a B) this year.

My real concern with all of these techno-toys is that they channel and stifle creativity at a very early age. They limit the amount of time that children spend on imaginitve play, and parents can acutally get frustrated if they feel that kids aren't making enough progress. This in turn leads to the child feeling like a failure.

If balls and blocks were good enough for Galileo, Faraday and Einstein, they should be good enough for my kid (and yours too).

The decision in our house is pretty clear. The Curious Boy has no patience for most toys and prefers pushing around his high chair to just about anything else.









Technorati Tags: philosopherdad, edutainment

powered by performancing firefox

"Re-Goodie" Those Cheap Toys

One of my favourite environment/design/sustainability blogs, Treehugger.com has a great article about what to do with the tons of cheap plastic crap that seems to accumulate on its own. The Curious Boy is not even a year old and we're already ankle deep.

Some of the ideas: give them to a doctor's office or clinics, give them to charity or have a garage sale and give the money away.

The problem with cheap stuff is that the plasitic is not very durable and will not stand up to repeated wear, teething or dishwashing.

Treehugger via ParentHacks