FYI- Melissa and Doug toys

[snomnky]

We don't do many plastic toys, but we have a lot of wooden melissa and doug toys. In light of the recent lead scares I emailed the company, and wanted to pass along the response:

"Yes, we definitely appreciate and understand your concern.
Please be assured, we test for lead VERY frequently.

It's quite possible to make great quality children's items in China, which meet
all safety regulations, but the key point is that you have to test and inspect
very frequently to be sure that your factories are always following your
instructions explicitly. I assure you that's exactly what we do.

From our experience, the key to doing this correctly is not simply to insist
that your factories follow your instructions, but then to go one step further
and to AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST very frequently. That is the most important
part of the process, and it's something our company has always taken VERY
seriously.

Thanks again for asking, and for your support also.

Your Dedicated Customer Service Team

Melissa & Doug, Inc.

800-284-3948

Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 EST"

[ecoteat]

Thanks for sharing that. We have a ton of M&D toys!

[BookGoddess]

It's nice to learn a company takes its responsibility seriously. Thanks for passing this on. We also have several M&D toys.

[merry-mary]

Thank goodness. This whole recall thing has made me so ill.

[wannabe]

Phew. we have loads of their toys.

[MamaE]

Thanks for checking into that. We have a ton of M/D toys as well and I tested them myself with those swab tests, but then I heard they are often inaccurate. They came up negative though. I'm at a place where I feel like nothing is safe anymore. : I think I might have been a happier mama in an informationless age.

[Mihelinka]

Thanks for the info I was wondering the same thing. We have lots of M&D toys & wasn't sure if I should test them.

[CountryMom2e]

We tested a sample of our toys b/c DS2 just came back with a positive lead level. All of our M&D toys tested negative with a lead scanner. The lead wipes are an ok test but the scanner is the definitive test.

I'm happy to see their comments. We are planning on purging a LOT of our toys over this - especially unbranded toys. Any old hand-me-down cars and trucks, old branded blocks, gone. I am just unsure of what toys to purge and what to save.

Oh I am so frightened!

[mercy589]

I saw the big recall of Mattell toys I think it was, but what other stuff should I be concerned about having lead in it??? Where do you get lead tester things like you guys have???

[Pam_and_Abigail]

This is interesting, as I was shopping for kids toys today and noticed, to my dismay, that the Melissa and Doug stuff was made in China.

I am awaiting a similar email of concern from Learning Curve, as my kids happen to be interested in their line of Bob the Builder toys, also made in China.

I wish I could make all our toys.

[chann96]

Thanks for this info. I was just thinking about M&D paint last night.

I always wanted to suggest that you might post this also in Childhood years or Parenting issues. I found it through New Posts, but I know not everyone looks there and they may not see it. I think it's very useful information for older kids too since M&D toys last so long.

[icxcnika]

Thank you for taking the time to write to them and for sharing their response. It's good to hear! (We love their toys too.)

[peapiebaby]

Yes, my M&D rep has always told me how they go above and beyond standards in testing their products.
They really seem to care about their products.
I wish they made their products here.

So hard to find anything NOT made in China.

[lisap]

thanks for posting this, i was wondering about m&d toys. we donated all of our plastic toys and have pretty much only m&d toys.

[limabean]

It sounds like they're being responsible about testing, but it's too bad that they continue to have their products manufactured in China. I'll be looking for alternatives in the future.

[AngelBee]

Thanks for posting this

[riverscout]

And Mattel says they have "rigorous standards" for their toy production in China too and look where it got them. The thing is, when a company chooses to subcontract out production to China, they give up control. Companies can test, but often by the time they do, the products are already in stores and in homes.

[riverscout]

Originally Posted by peapiebaby

So hard to find anything NOT made in China.

IME, it is quite simple. As a matter of fact, avoiding products made in China has really opened my eyes to all the cool toys made in Europe and the US. There are lots of threads here on MDC that have links to great toy websites that sell these types of toys.

If anyone is actually interested, I'd be glad to post some links.

[apple_dumpling]

Thanks for posting this. I've been wondering about M&D myself, because dd has a few puzzles that are her faves... especially some fishing puzzle with a rod (yeah it's magnetic but I'm not too worried about it - it's a pretty big magnet, not those tiny ones)

I like M&D toys but for some reason most of the "toys" we have had from M&D, like play food, etc. has flaky paint and I don't like that. Maybe we just got some bad bunches, but dd isn't really the type to put stuff in her mouth and chew on it (especially now at 2.5) but the paint flakes off just from very minor wear and tear. Eh I guess I should just be quiet and be thankful they test their stuff good

[apple_dumpling]

Originally Posted by riverscout

IME, it is quite simple. As a matter of fact, avoiding products made in China has really opened my eyes to all the cool toys made in Europe and the US. There are lots of threads here on MDC that have links to great toy websites that sell these types of toys.

If anyone is actually interested, I'd be glad to post some links.

When dd was younger, I got her some toys from Oompa toys. Lots of gorgeous toys made in Europe on that site, though a little pricey (but worth it IMO)

DD LOVED the haba teethers and rattles/rings when she was a babe. And I felt better about her chewing on those than plastic liquid filled rings from Wal-Mart.