SHOPPING FOR TOYS A DIFFICULT CHOICE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

NOTE TO SELF: Watch out for the bad toys!

Chances are consumers are heavy into shopping in search of those perfect gifts for family and friends bit there's trouble in toyland this holiday season. In as far as the kids are concerned, toys are always welcome but it's getting more and more difficult to differentiate between the bad and the safe one's.

More toys tainted with extremely high levels of lead were found on the shelves at major U.S. retailers, according to an advocacy group's survey released Tuesday.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which released the "2007 Trouble in Toyland" report, highlighted hazards that included lead, dangerous small magnets, and toys that pose choking and strangulation hazards.

"While we have seen progress after more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of America's littlest consumers, U.S. PIRG's researchers still found trouble in toyland on store shelves this fall," said Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director at the U.S. PIRG.

Toys tested by the Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC] are banned if they contain lead at 600 parts per million - the legal lead standard. The U.S. PIRG went to different retailers and tested a number of different toys which had high amounts of lead.

Read the full story here:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/20/news/companies/toys_lead/index.htm

It would be interesting to know if consumers have changed their shopping habits due to all the reports of toys containing lead and what, if any, impact it will have on the holiday Christmas sale. Perhaps the only solution is to bring along the lists of safe toys to ensure that those selected are tested and acceptable.

Isn't it sad that shopping for toys has come down to this? It also leaves one to wonder about all those toys purchased over the years. The lead content must have been present and there must have been some exposure to lead. Or perhaps the current lead in toys is a recent occurence? Go know!

Ho-ho-ho and Happy Chanukah to you, too!