Buying Toys Not Made In China

Every parent is concerned for their child's safety but it seems we've focused so much of our attention on not buying toys made in China, that we've forgotten who shares in the responsibility for the production of those dangerous toys. By boycotting 'Chinese made toys', are we really doing the best we can do to protect our children?

Approximately 80 percent of all toys are made in China. But the factories in China where these toys are produced are owned by major toy companies like Mattel and Fisher-Price, American companies who've shipped their manufacturing processes overseas to save money and increase profits.

Who's responsible then when millions of toys are recalled because they're covered in lead paint? We've heard a resounding 'Buy Toys Not Made In China!' but is that really the best we can do? Is that really ALL we can do? What about not buying toys that are made by the companies that own those factories?

We're all operating under the mistaken impression that if it's made in America, it must be safe. Or, conversely, as long as it's NOT made in China, it's OK to buy it. And we also mistakenly assume that if a product has the name of an American manufacturer stamped on the box, then it must have been made in America.

It's a vicious circle and it's tough to sort it out, but the simple fact remains - we've already seen more than one example of an American manufacturer producing defective products in factories that aren't located in America – they're in China. And China gets all the blame while the real culprit – the company making all the profit – gets off scott free!

Not buying toys made in China obviously isn't enough. What more can we do to protect our children?

For one thing, we need to stop automatically assuming that toys with the names of American companies on the box are inherently safe. Having 'Mattel' or 'Fisher-Price' stamped on the box doesn't guarantee those toys were made in America.

As parents, we need to pay more attention to the toys we're buying for our kids and stop relying on other people to tell us what's safe and what's not. Again, we need to stop trusting that name on the box and start trusting our own parental instincts. If it looks dangerous, it probably is.

We need to start holding the toy manufacturers responsible for these cheaply made toys that fall apart in an afternoon, the toys that have pieces small enough for our children to swallow, and the dangerous toys covered with lead paint. They've made it perfectly clear that they're not the least bit concerned about quality. So it's time we turned to the manufacturers who are.