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When a Birthday Bash Becomes a Toxicology Class
Kristen Hayes Hoemke
Saturday, August 22, 2009
When I was a child, parents weren’t worried about the presence of hormone-disrupting phthalates in toys, and didn’t consider whether art supplies were manufactured in the US or China. Plastic toys were championed for being durable, cleanable, and kid-friendly. But as public awareness about the impact of toxins in toys rises, many families, including ours, are demanding better for our children. Congress responded when they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), banning the sale of toys and child care products containing phthalates and lead beginning February 10, 2009. Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee that the toys my son receives will be lead/phthalate free, as they may have been purchased before February, re-gifted, or ended up on the store shelf illegally.
Thankfully, we have many friends and family who will give him safe gifts for him to enjoy. They’re the believers: those who are open to our suggestions and interested in helping to protect my son’s health. But the skeptics, who believe we’re over-reacting and excessively over-protective of our son, are out there.
As his first birthday approaches, finding my voice and advocating for my child’s safety has caused me some anxiety, and there have been conversations I’ve felt badly about, since the end result is my unwillingness to allow him to play with some gifts. But I continue to see this as an opportunity to educate the adults in my son’s life; people who love us and would never knowingly subject him to materials that are damaging to his health. And along the way, I’m finding my own voice as an advocate for my child. Using the simple strategies below, you can find your voice too.
- Tell your friends and family that you appreciate their generosity and desire to share in your child’s life.
- Encourage them to give less material gifts, and instead to give the gift of their time, attention and love, which have a lasting positive impact on your child’s social-emotional development.
- Invite them to invest in your child’s future through a contribution to a college savings account.
- Provide simple information – many children’s products are made using harsh chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol-A or heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury that pose a serious threat to children and toy manufacture worker’s health.
- Share web-based resources (ex. http://www.healthtoys.org) so gift-givers can learn about the chemicals used in the toys they are considering for purchase.
- Provide gift-givers with a list of companies that are committed to using non-toxic materials (we recommend several phthalate free companies including LEGO, BRIO, Gerber, Little Tykes and others), sustainable or recycled materials (Plan Toys uses recycled rubberwood and non-toxic paints), and third-party testing (Melissa and Doug) to aid in their gift purchasing decisions.
We’ve made two tough decisions: that toys that contain harmful chemicals will be returned or disposed of; and that we will not donate toys that aren’t good enough for our son, believing we all share the responsibility to protect and value a child’s right to a healthy start.
And there’s been success - my mother (who’s now a believer) recently called to say she had read the product description on a toy she was considering purchasing, but when she read it was sprayed with flame retardants, she opted to purchase an alternative “green” toy. I celebrated her decision, knowing my message was heard.
Now that I’ve found my voice, I can focus on the daunting task of making his first birthday cake – in the shape of a monkey.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.
Posted by Hans on 08/24/2009 at 08:15 PM
it’s very frustrating to get that message across. I lot of time and careful presentation of information go into it. It is very frustrating in our situation where we don’t have enough money to get our own stuff, so we get all these hand me downs from people that don’t care about toxicity. Maybe I need to start a process of where we exchange one toy each month for a healthy one.
Thank you for all the tips though, Hans
Posted by smilinggreenmom on 08/22/2009 at 08:21 AM
Oh this is good. Is am currently going through all of this too. There are a few people in my family who think I am making our kids live in a bubble by being “over-protective”. Grrr. I do value safety and have done my homework- it is not about over reacting as it is legitimate concerns with scientific backing. I have a hard time verbalizing this in person because I get all jumbled up under pressure you know? But I love your idea of making a list of companies or products that are safe to give others! Also- I have considered asking for contributions to worthy causes as well! Thanks
More comments:
Posted by Panasonic Breadmakers on 08/28/2009 at 06:16 PM
I have always just done close family so my little ones don’t get overwhelmed by a large amount of people and then they don’t really enjoy themselves. but if you have an extremely close family then maybe you would feel better having all of them there. The more people you have over, the more work it will be and probably the less time you will have to sit back and enjoy watching your child.