Christmas is just around the corner and parents must be aware of what they are putting in the hands of their children that may be harmful in subtle ways other than physcial injury.
Along with other items listed below, The Consumer Products Safety Commission has reported that the MacPherson’s company operating under the name of Art Alternatives has issued a voluntary recall on their Little Artist Easels and is warning parents to take them away from the children until they can be exchanged for a new one. These toys were made in China. See the list below from a web site called Parent Dish which list many more warnings on items. Also, see the suggested site on lead poisoning as these products are not the only ones still on the market that is dangerous for our children.
Checking with a local Toy-R-Us in Metro-Atlanta, the store spokesman said they did not carry this particular toy. Others may or may not. However, they are still being sold online at a 22% discount –hmmmm. These may still be sold in other toy stores and hobby shops in Atlanta and other cities. Just be aware of the name and brand before buying and put them away if you already have them in your home.
http://www.artsuppliesonline.com/catalog.cfm?cata_id=8995
After testing 10,000 of these easels, they were found to contain more than the allowable amount of lead on the chalkboards. They are mostly sold in art supply shops and online. The recall involves toys sold from July 2004 until present. This recall is only for the chalk board which has the chalk board on one side and a white board on the others and bears the item number A13301 with the UPC Code of 082435133010. Continue below for other recalls and warnings.
While it may not be likely parents have kept the original packaging particularly since 2004, you may call the MacPherson’s Company at 1-886-319-5335 between the hours of 8 AM and 4:30P Pacific time – Monday thru Friday for replacement and if you have any questions you can e-mail them at recall@macphersonart.com.
LEAD POISONING IS DANGEROUS: This seems to be the same old song, second verse – our children being exposed to lead from toys made in China. Lead poisoning can be a very serious danger to children who are exposed to it even in small doses. Small doses can result in lower IQ; while larger doses can result in much higher complications such as anemia, muscle weakness, and brain damage. Read about lead poisoning at these two sites.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/leadpoisoning.html and http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lead.htm
The Parent Dish site offers a lot of information for parents including a list of warnings, and recalls, and refunds. http://www.parentdish.com/category/alerts-and-recalls/ including:
Adventure Play Sets
Young Artist Easels
Baby Soother Pacifiers
Baby Einstein Videos
Bryers Ice Cream
Children’s Face Paint – Contamination
Plum Organics Baby Food Recall
Target faces fines for lead in toys
Some Children’s Tylenol
Orbit Stroller/Car Seat – Warning
Better safe than sorry – our children are a gift from God and most of the time we are the only source of protection they have; be it for personal safety from molesters, toys that injure, poor diets, or seemingly innocent toys that contain poison like lead – we must be vigilant in protecting them at all cost. Maybe the most serious warning label we should look for is “Made in China.”
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