With the health and safety of our children at stake, parents require sound scientific research regarding the risks to which their children are exposed. Products, activities, foods, and toys in our children’s lives can be made safe and kept safe if science, not media hysteria or reactionary legislation, makes the guidelines. We hope you will join the Child Safety Task Force in calling for more research and smart science to help parents and legislators make informed decisions.
Unintended Consequences of Lack of Research
Aqua Dots Recall 2007: The bead craft toy was subject to a multi-national product recall after it was found that the Wangqi Product Factory in China had substituted a cheaper chemical for the specified one in some shipped toys. The non-toxic chemical was replaced with a compound which is metabolized into the anesthetic and well known “date rape drug” GHB. The chemically changed product resulted in the illness and hospitalization of some children who ingested the beads.
Vaccine/Autism Scare 2008: Because signs of autism may appear at around the same time children receive the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, some parents have raised concerns that the vaccine causes autism. Carefully performed scientific studies have found no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism. The Center for Disease Control continues to recommend two doses of MMR vaccine for all children.
Phthalates/Plastics Scare 2008: Environmental groups enforced a “better safe than sorry” approach to pushing a ban on high-molecular-weight phthalates, despite decades of use and scientific research verifying that they are safe. In areas where phthalates are banned, consumers can expect unnecessary price increases. Untested alternative plasticizers are three times more expensive, and of the nine alternative plasticizers currently on the market, none have been tested or approved by the government for use in children’s toys.
Easy-Bake Oven Recall 2007: Manufacturers of the oven changed the toy’s design to make the oven safer and unintentionally created a hazard they did not anticipate. Since February of 2007 the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the product for children under 8-years of age after Easy-Bake received 249 reports of children getting their hands or fingers caught in the oven’s opening, including five reports of burns.2
Join our efforts to ensure child safety through the use of safe, tested and government approved chemicals in toys. Learn more and take action today!
