One of the things I like about blogging around the holidays is getting to do my favorite toy lists.
I did quite a few last year, and see no particular reason to reinvent the wheel, but I am going to include some reviews of various toys and books over the next month.
Here are some great options if you're looking for high quality books this year!
Herb the Vegetarian Dragon
Secret Mountain Books
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While that is true that I would like some green for Christmas…as in the currency kind, I’d also like to see some changes next year.
So, since the Green Moms Carnival hosted by Diane at Big Green Purse this month, I'm going to include my wish. Always a deep thinker, Diane proposed the following topic:
What recommendations would you like to make to the Obama Administration to encourage them to adopt a "prevention agenda?"
Diane has a discussion going on ning which is worth a read and if you’re a mom, you’ll all about prevention, so feel free to graze…there’s lots of things to worry about and lots of work to do to prevent even more.
The choice of topics was easy for me since I received an email from my friend Mary with this update of her recent trip to Greenbuild. She laments the lack of direction. She laments the progress, or lack thereof. She laments the fact that…hmmm…no one really seems to want to step up to the plate and be in charge or agree that someone should be in charge or do anything to get the ball rolling. (O.K., the ball is rolling, but ever so slowly.)
So, I want to talk about standards, Mr. President! (Doesn’t it seem slightly weird to be saying “Mr. President after months of ‘Obama,Obama’?” And yes,I know, it's still "President-elect")
Anyway, I’ve written quite a bit about how buying a simple package of granola bars requires a law degree and/or an “in” with the FDA or USDA or some other agency that regulates labeling and packaging.
So, all I’m asking you to do, Mr. Obama is use your bully pulpit to set a new standard for um…standards. It’s not like it’s just consumers asking for some sort of guidelines…it’s major manufacturers and small entrepreneurs. It’s moms and money managers…it’s well…everyone.
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure if this actually requires a budget increase. I think it just requires someone in authority (that would be you) to stand up and say, “hey, let’s get some clarity around this issue.”
Believe it or not, this really is one of those issues where the free market will make it happen. Major manufacturers will fall all over each other to meet whatever the new standards are…and smaller firms and advocacy groups will one up them to create even better ones. It won’t be perfect but, it will be better than what we have now!
In case you missed it. Check out this ad from Motrin. It created a stir when Blogger Jessica Gottlieb published this post on EcoChild's Play
The power of Crunchy Parents!
I wrote about the marketing impact here that led Motrin to pull their ad.
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Last year I spent a few weeks writing about some of my favorite toys. That is, I wrote about them when I wasn't busy keeping up with all of the recalls!
This year, I'm going to add to the list. Mostly I will be doing that on the FamilyTime blog at PriceGrabber.
I'm also going to be adding some here, but first let me call your attention to the ones I slaved over wrote last year.
Best Toys for The Holidays Part I - Blocks
Best Toys For The Holidays -Part II- Dolls
Best Toys for The Holidays- Part III – Books
Best Toys For The Holidays - Part IV Cars, Trucks and Things that Go
Those of us in the mommy blogsphere heaved a collective sigh of relief around January last year. It seemed that we were constantly scrambling to keep up with the spate of recalls last year. It became a bit of a running joke on emails that we traded back and forth.
"We're changing the names of our blogs,"we joked.
"I really never thought I'd only be writing about recalls," we sighed.
And now a year later, recalls are no longer top of mind. Will parents still be leery of anything made in China? Will they eschew lead toys in favor or wood and natural materials?
Not so fast. I say.
The one hazard that still exists and will always is the choking hazards of small pieces. Once again there have been recalls of small pieces that present a choking hazard to young children.
Unfortunately, the choking hazard...umm, hazard exists in an odd place in the legal wilderness. Toys labeled as for children 3 and under that have pieces smaller than a child's windpipe, are in violation of regulation of the toy industry and must be recalled and brought into compliance. The manufacturer hopes this is before a child is hurt and they face lawsuits.
However, if your two-year-old chokes on a toy intended for an older child...well...you were warned. On the package it clearly says, "Not intended for use by children under 3 or 4 or 5".
Unfortunately, as we careen from metal (oops lead poisoning) to plastic (BPA and phthalates) to natural wooden toys, the choking hazard follows us.
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