Melissa and Doug wooden birthday cake...china!

[jenkuh]

My dd is obsessed with birthdays, sings happy birthday all day long, everything (buildings, strings, etc.) are ALL birthday cakes or birthday hats! So anyway, I found the Melissa and Doug birthday cake at the store today and snatched it up. Brought it home and remembered the whole China ordeal as I was opening the package and saw "China" printed on the bottom - plus it smelled somewhat strongly of whatever they paint it with! :-(

I was SO hoping she could play with this tomorrow while I babysit a baby for 10 hours but the mommy alarm went off and I don't feel comfortable anymore!

Anyone done a lead test recently on a M&D birthday cake - hehe? Am I being TOO paranoid about this?

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

I dont know the answer but Id be paranoid too!! Lead is a serious problem.. Id hold off until I got an answer. Maybe email M&D??

[Tinas3muskateers]

I emailed them because we mostly have M&D toys. They assured me that they test and restest, and watch over, and are very involved in what goes on over there with their products, on and on. I havent lead tested any of our toys though.

[ktbug]

A lot of the M&D stuff is made in China, fwiw.

[Zuzu822]

We tested our M&D toys this weekend. They were all okay.

Still not sure we'll be buying anything else from them, though.

[NYCVeg]

On another thread (maybe search?), someone posted a letter they got from teh company, basically outlining their testing standards, etc. Dd has 2 M&D puzzles, and I got her a bunch of playfood for the holidays--I'm not that concerned about it, based on the company practices (assuming they're not lying--which I'm guessing they're not, b/c of lawsuit potential).

[Ravin]

Seems to me the difference here is that M&D is a smaller company than the ones that have had the recall problems. Smaller company should equal better oversight and better quality. Simply being made in china does not automatically equal being contaminated with lead. Now, being mass market licensed character crap made in china...increases the odds quite a bit.

[3*is*magic]

Honestly, M&D is one of the few made-in-china manufacturers that I am inclined to trust - especially if your DD is through with mouthing toys.

Just my .02!

[earthmama369]

As I understand it, Melissa and Doug actually keeps a staff member on site to make sure their manufacturer is following the safety guidelines that they specify. A major problem with items manufactured in China is that a company will tell them what they want, but they won't check on it regularly or enforce it. Melissa and Doug does, and quite stringently. There was another thread on here when the whole "tainted items made in China" issue hit and several MDC mamas checked their toys with a lead tester, and all of the Melissa and Doug toys came up clean.

[jenkuh]

Thanks so much for the info and replies, everyone! I didn't have a chance to check out the replies until after the baby left today, but I played it safe and left it on the shelf. Tonight I did a little more reading on M&D too and I think I'm going to let her play with the cake tomorrow (wow, she's going to have fun!) and pick up a lead test to have around anyhow! This china stuff is : !

*edit* to say that I love M&D stuff so the info all of you shared was much appreciated! Thanks again!

[Zuzu822]

Originally Posted by 3*is*magic

Honestly, M&D is one of the few made-in-china manufacturers that I am inclined to trust - especially if your DD is through with mouthing toys.

Just my .02!

I was reading on Oompa Toys that a lot of their European toys are made in China-- Haba, Djeco, etc. all manufacture at least some in China. Plan Toys are made in Thailand. How does everyone feel about these companies?

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I know about M&D, but I emailed them about the testing too, and they were very helpful. I'm afraid in this global day & age, it is unavoidable, because even if it's assembled somewhere else all together, some component probably came from China.

I also adore Haba, and not *all* are made in china, but they have begun to move some manufacturing there. I hope it is a trend that doesn't continue. A Toy Garden has a very helpful website that on their catalog page has an american flag if the toy is made in usa.

http://www.atoygarden.com/index.cfm?...category_ID=82

[3*is*magic]

Originally Posted by Zuzu822

I was reading on Oompa Toys that a lot of their European toys are made in China-- Haba, Djeco, etc. all manufacture at least some in China. Plan Toys are made in Thailand. How does everyone feel about these companies?

Good question. To be honest, I am not 100% sure how to feel. I want to trust companies like Haba and think that generally European companies have stricter guidelines for safety of children's toys. Beyond the safety aspect, though, I have issues with the ethics of how Chinese manufacturers treat their workers and the insane amount of pollution they create.

I'd love to hear what others think.

[kaspirant]

What about these?

Cherry Blossom Cake

Suzani Felt Cake

The first one is about the same price as the M&D and the second one is a bit more. These are made in the USA and gorgeous.

We aren't big fans of Melissa and Doug stuff. I don't think *everything* made in china is bad...but I'd rather not support MIC things.

[Zuzu822]

Originally Posted by kaspirant

Cherry Blossom Cake

Suzani Felt Cake

The first one is about the same price as the M&D and the second one is a bit more. These are made in the USA and gorgeous.

We aren't big fans of Melissa and Doug stuff. I don't think *everything* made in china is bad...but I'd rather not support MIC things.

Those are fantastic! I saw someone selling a felt pizza (maybe A Toy Garden??). I think my DS is still too young for pizzas and cake. The pieces would be lost in about 2.5 seconds!

[Zuzu822]

Originally Posted by 3*is*magic

Good question. To be honest, I am not 100% sure how to feel. I want to trust companies like Haba and think that generally European companies have stricter guidelines for safety of children's toys. Beyond the safety aspect, though, I have issues with the ethics of how Chinese manufacturers treat their workers and the insane amount of pollution they create.

I'd love to hear what others think.

Those are similar to my thoughts too. I would hope smaller companies are more aware of these things, but I don't know... I read that Playmobil has some parts MIC too. I think I'm going to try to stick to U.S. made. I love Haba, though! Luckily some sites tell you exactly where each product is made within one company's line, so you could avoid China but not the company altogether.

[Tiffany_PartyOf5]

but are there other countries that can be unsafe to buy toys that are made there? like can Thailand or Japan or Mexico use lead paint on toys? Im such a worrier

[alysonb]

I totally love Plan Toys. They have an excellent environmental policy and use vegetable dyes for their colors, so I feel safe using them. They are hard to get hold of, but last year I had a toy break and emailed customer service about it. I never heard back from them, but a few weeks later I had a brand new toy arrive in my mail box, all the way direct from Thailand! To me that was above and beyond, so they definitely get high marks with me.

[jenkuh]

Originally Posted by kaspirant

Cherry Blossom Cake

Suzani Felt Cake

The first one is about the same price as the M&D and the second one is a bit more. These are made in the USA and gorgeous.

We aren't big fans of Melissa and Doug stuff. I don't think *everything* made in china is bad...but I'd rather not support MIC things.

Oh my goodness - those are fantastic!! Thanks!

[apple_dumpling]

I'm not a huge fan of M&D toys because I've found that the paint chips pretty easily on them. Even before all of the 'made in china' furor came about, I had to take some of these away from dd because paint was chipping off just from regular play - not to mention sometimes the edges were a bit ragged/rough. Shame because they are cute toys, I just don't think they are well made at all.