Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Parenting › Family Safety › Melissa & Doug toys
New Posts  All Forums:
 

Melissa & Doug toys - Page 3

post #41 of 62
11/26/08 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogretro View Post
alysmommy ~ Toys r us is lucky that you didnt sue them! I cannot believe they would not take it back when it is their own stores brand! Here is the link to the unpainted train: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2985592 According to the info, the wood has received the Forest Stewardship Council seal of certification. It is made in China, but since my main concern w/ China is lead, I feel okay about this product since in is decorated by burning the wood, not painting it. I am not thrilled that the new eco line is produced in China, but one step at a time I suppose :~
Thanks so much for the link. I normally don't buy toys from their, but I have other birthday returns to do so I'll take a look at it.

I was furious with them when they wouldn't take the train! I meant to report it to the CPSC, but never got to it and DH eventually threw it away.

That's not all either. I had another Imaginarium toy that didn't manage to get ripped open so I wanted to return it too and it was bought by the same person so I didn't have the receipt. A week later, that toy was recalled! I was so glad I didn't let DS play with it. And I couldn't believe they wouldn't take back their own brand. I know it's their policy now to only take returns with a receipt, but it's their brand!! WM isn't going to let me return it there.
Sponsored Links
post #42 of 62
11/26/08 at 3:21pm
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-D...7723632&sr=8-1

Adorable as decoration - worthless as a toy.
post #43 of 62
11/26/08 at 3:27pm
Yep, no way on Melissa and Doug. There are so many quality wooden toys out there, and as we get closer to the holidays there will be coupon codes galore. Just make sure you type in the store name and coupon code to see what you can find. Also, Maple Landmark makes some great wooden toys with no finish, including train track sets, etc. Whittle makes wooden trains made in the usa and are a wonderful substitute for "thomas crud" and are compatible with train stuff out there. You can find all kinds of good stuff out there.
post #44 of 62
11/26/08 at 3:47pm
Oh man...I am so bummed. I feel like I am losing a war or something. Buying my child toys should NOT carry so much risk.
DS has a ton of M&D toys...both hand-me-down and new.
post #45 of 62
11/26/08 at 3:59pm
I've been looking up descriptions on M&D toys and some of them actually say "solid wood". Obviously, not the puzzles but the wooden food.
post #46 of 62
11/26/08 at 5:44pm
Don't forget to check out the HUGE thread in the art/crafts forum here about making your own toys. I've made some great things for ds lately. Now that I'm knitting, I've made a lot of stuffed animals, dolls, finger puppets and knitted play foodn(ice cream cones, pizza, fruit and veggies, donuts-- there are a ton of free patterns out there!). I'm knitting him a light saber now! I also found blank wooden peg people at Micheals (2.50 for two adults and 3 kids sized) and I'm painting him a family to look like our family for Christmas. I also bought a blank board game set at Bare Books ($7!) so I think I'll make the people to be our family going on some game board adventure.
post #47 of 62
11/27/08 at 3:56am
Thread Starter 
Catti ~ If you havent opened the shape sorter yet, Toys r Us has an unpainted on in their eco line.

beka ~ Those puzzles are awesome! I just bought dd some playsilks for Christmas from this etsy store: http://beneaththerowantree.etsy.com They are v nice. I decided to get all natural or handmade toys as gifts this year. I bought play food from here: http://gingerblossoms.etsy.com but havent received it yet so I dont know if it is as cute as I think it will be

Although I always knew I would monitor dds toys, I didnt know that I was going to become this interested & concerned. It also helps that I LOOOOVE toys. I think I need a toy activist icon/smilie
post #48 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MamieCole View Post
Oh man...I am so bummed. I feel like I am losing a war or something. Buying my child toys should NOT carry so much risk.
Mamie, you are so right! Although this is pretty much how I feel about everything (soap, plastic, food, etc), there is just something so sacred about toys.. This is why Im glad to have started now while dd is still a baby. This way she will not know any different. Once she is school age, I am going to ease up. I know I adored my My Little Ponies and dh loved his Transformers. Part of the joy of childhood is being able to have the toys that you want, but until she is 1) not mouthing every toy and 2) able to ask for for specific toys I am going to be vigilant!

It really is such a shame about M&D. This whole thing w/ them makes me sad. I remember when I first saw their toys and how awesome and beautiful I thought they were. And they are available everywhere! What a waste.
post #49 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:07am
ACK!! Here I thought suggesting M&D was a good way to avoid plasstic, lead, etc. crap for DD's birthday and Christmas. We have a couple of puzzles and I wasn't impressed with the quality, but FIL just bought DD the M&D train set for her birthday (at our suggestion). My DH is making a train table, and we were trying to avoid Thomas (b/c of precious recalls and b/c I just think it is too expensive for super marketed stuff) - but what should we do??????

DD loves trains and DH has been working so hard on this train table. We are in Canada and don't have the best selection and with our dollar low and shipping high, it is super expensive to order from the US.

Is there a train set (like the Thomas/M&D size) that isn't coated in lead paint?? HELP!
post #50 of 62
11/27/08 at 5:54am
Ugh, I knew M&D was crappy (from experience).... I'm extra frustrated because my MIL thinks she's doing such a great thing getting "wooden" stuff for us. I thought so too with the first few M&D things I bought. She just gave the train to my son and he loves it. It came from Ross, so I'm thinking it's a good candidate for being part of the recall. I hate having to tell her again, "nope, we're gonna have to get rid of that." Poor woman loves to buy stuff for us but I'm always shutting her down!

So frustrating! :
post #51 of 62
11/27/08 at 2:50pm
Any thoughts on the M&D train set? Any other options (other than Thomas)? Help please. DD's b-day is in 2 weeks!
post #52 of 62
11/27/08 at 3:15pm
theres a great ma and pop company that makes trains here inthe US

http://www.maplelandmark.com/

definately do NOT get the m&d one!!!
post #53 of 62
11/27/08 at 3:16pm
Ikea also has a wooden train set. It's made somewhere in eastern europe, I believe. We haven't had any issues with chipping paint, or anything, and they are not expensive. We also have a Plan City one, but it's too complex for my DS right now.
post #54 of 62
11/27/08 at 3:46pm
Does anyone know anything about Heros toy trains made in Germany? Here is one set.

They sound much better and I can order from within Canada (including shipping - whoo-hoo). I need to order asap for DD's birthday. Why can't they make safe toys!!!!
post #55 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by syd'smom View Post
Does anyone know anything about Heros toy trains made in Germany? Here is one set.

They sound much better and I can order from within Canada (including shipping - whoo-hoo). I need to order asap for DD's birthday. Why can't they make safe toys!!!!
Yes, they're awesome!! Do you have Home Goods nearby? Our Home Goods gets Heros toys every few months. Last year I snagged a train set there, in perfect condition and original packaging, and it was 60% off the regular price. I bought another set from Moolka to expand. My kids love them and they've held up very well. We have one piece of one train that broke when it was stepped on, but that's it.
post #56 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:04pm
I'm in Canada, so buying options are limited. I'm willing to spend the money on this, but I'm sad the M&D set isn't great b/c FIL already bought it. How has the stain/paint held up?? The concern with M&D seems to be paint chipping (and obviously kids put these things in their mouths, so...I can see the problem).

Would you mind taking a pic of the set and sending it to me? I'm trying to figure out the size of the pieces, etc. Is it pretty much the same size as Thomas and M&D? I love to get opinions from people who have the toy b/c the pics from the store are hard to relate to. Thanks mama!
post #57 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:20pm
The paint has held up great, I don't think there are any chips. The way they do the paint is kind of like it is on Plan toys... I don't know how to describe it, but it's not a thick coat slathered on like on M&D toys. It's much thinner, almost like a stain. IMO the trains look smaller than Thomas, but according to DH they fit on the same tracks. I can try to snap some pics of a few in a bit. I'll have to dig some out, they're a little scattered across the playroom right now (it's a disaster!).
post #58 of 62
11/27/08 at 4:44pm
I will not take a chance buying my DS ANY toys MIC. It is way too much of a risk for my concern. I actually thought M&D toys would be a good choice when I first found them at Whole Food natural food store, but when I read the label MIC I immediately put it down and started doing research on the internet. There are so many excellent, quality wooden toys made in the US or Europe that I don't have trouble finding anything. However, the prices are generally a little higher. DS doesn't have tons of toys, but the ones that he does have are of exceptional quality and he loves them all. I'm also the same picky mama when it comes to clothes, food, and natural supplements MIC - won't buy from there unless/until there's reassurances that the toxic lead, melamine, and other horrible stories I've heard about chemicals are corrected.
post #59 of 62
11/28/08 at 1:24am
BRIO has really cute train sets that are pretty inexpensive.

http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/sear...=9781400662906
post #60 of 62
11/28/08 at 2:02am
I'm fairly certain BRIO is MIC.

syd'smom, I wasn't able to get pics yet, but I will try tomorrow for you.
New Posts  All Forums:
 
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Family Safety
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Parenting › Family Safety › Melissa & Doug toys