Baby Toys/Items with Toxic Chemicals

2172 Views 24 Replies 19 Participants Last post by Peacemamalove, Jun 13, 2006

gillieanne

Discussion Starter · Apr 12, 2006

I have recieved many toys and other such baby items with harmful levels of PBDEs from well meaning relatives and family friends. The other gifts I have recieved that were not to my liking or use (crib sheets

, disney, etc) I have just given to charity. The harmfull plastics and PBDEs I am having a promblem with what to do with, I don't want to keep them in the house. I don't want to donate them because I don't want to pass this yucky stuff on.I don't want to do further damage to the earth by dumping it in landfills. What should I do?

I just went to an environmental event on Sunday and all of my fears about how much nasty stuff is in kids products has been further confirmed!!! But they didn't say with what to do with the crap!http://www.environmentcalifornia.org...top-toxic-toys

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1 - 20 of 25 Posts

MuesliMama

· #2 · Apr 12, 2006

Argghhhh!! This all makes me so mad.

Thanks for the good link. Don't have any good answers for you - I'm new to all this info. - just more questions...

What toys are the worst offenders?
What's a safe, unbreakable replacement for plastic plates and utensils?
How bad is the silicone in pacifiers?

Meanwhile, sticking to my Haba toys...

A thought about disposing of the harmful stuff: maybe donating them IS the best way, since someone else won't go out and buy and support the production of more of this crap.

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tsfairy

· #3 · Apr 12, 2006

Well that's just depressing... cans of food are coated w/ toxic plastic??

I try to keep PVC and polycarb away from DS. Pthalates are harder because I just don't know what toys/products contain them unless they're labeled.

I know we have way too many plastic toys... sigh.

What's the deal with silicone? Luckily DS doesn't take a pacifier (he chews on one occasionally but has never been a binky-baby) and doesn't take a bottle anymore, but when buying pacis & bottle nipples I always chose silicone over latex to try to avoid allergies. Was this a bad choice?

Oh and Mothering (the main site) recently had an article regarding stuffed toys and PBDE's. Based on that, I wash any new stuffed toy before letting DS play with it, because everything goes in his mouth.

hookahgirl

· #4 · Apr 12, 2006

We use regular spoons and forks with our 1 year old. We found ones that had shorter handles, it works out really well, and she isnt poking herself in the eye or anything!!

DD has alot of plastic toys, mostly the harder plastic. I have been working on getting rid of them, but I feel bad. I dont want to donate them, it seems like that is saying "Here you poor person, this toys isnt good enough for MY child, but for yours, it is ok." So for now, all DD's creepy toys that smell like baby powder(am I the only one who thinks that is SO weird) and what not are downstairs in boxes. I am hoping to figure out something to with them. Maybe make some art with them???

Avena

· #5 · Apr 12, 2006

Yep it's hard but we keep all plastic out of our house too! I know what ya mean I don't want to pollute other kids & the earth either!!!!

I tell all our family NO PLASTIC OR IT WILL BE THROWN AWAY! ( I have to say throw, as it finally sinks in that the $$$ they spend will be tossed...This helps cuz they don't buy the crap!

Here's a good article to give to your family's so they will stop supporting these crappy companies :
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...th/4651391.stm

Good luck and let me know if you find how to recyc. this plastic crap

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zaner'smama

· #6 · Apr 12, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuesliMama
How bad is the silicone in pacifiers?

I know that silicone doesn't contain phthalates and from what I understand, it is chemically inert. Please, if someone has different info let me know.
Many toy manufacturers have removed phthalates, but certainly not all of them. Here are some links I found in another thread which will give you a good start for finding which toys are better. These links aren't completely up-to-date, so I called the manufacturers for the plastic toys we have.

http://www.toysafety.net/2001/pdfs/Phthalatesurvey.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/2003-toy-report-card

HTH!
Betsy

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rikiamber

· #7 · Apr 12, 2006

Does this include Tupperware, thos ziploc containers and other plastic throw away containers you can use as tuperware? this is frightening. I have a baby on the way and haven planned a shower yet but so far my invitations will probably say: Come celebrate the soon to be arrival of our first baby. 'Please no gifts of bottles, pacifiers, disposable diapers, disposable wipes, plastic toys or crib related items'
Is this accptable? I need someone to host this for me, someone who would give ideas for me like wooden toys and children books and educational toys. Its sad that the world has come to this. Childrens toys should be safe, they dont need all that crazy junk, shoot just give them the box that the toy came in.

From the PP sites it says that gerber is safe, graco, and a few others, which are teh popular ones that people ususally buy anyways. oh this is sad. My Dh is going to shake his head at this, he isnt really receptive to all this research. He is against pacifiers though, adamentlly against them, he sees them as an addiction started in infancy that is totally unnecessary. i love him for that, makes me happy he feels that way cause so do I.

Anyways, I guess I need to find out about plastic food storage items.

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rikiamber

· #8 · Apr 13, 2006

I didnt mean to offend about pacifiers. My reasons for avoiding addictive items are because both my DH and I have a strong uhh 'tradition' of addiction, so to speak, in our families so avoiding anything that causes addiction we want to avoid or limit so that it dosent become a familiar habit for our kids. I understand that some parents are really good at giving pacifiers, though most ar not and use it to 'plug' a fussy baby up as one mom I knew use to say. All things in moderation I suppose. As for us we wont let pacifiers in the house unless its the last resort.

JAL

· #9 · Apr 13, 2006

thanks for the good links! I had been meaning to look into what was safe or not before dd gets into putting everything in her mouth...good start!

gillieanne

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 15, 2006

Thanks for all the great repsonses!

I do know that all plastics aren't bad, I was just wondering about the bath books and other toys proven to be harmful. I thank y'all again and I am still trying to figure out what to do with all of the crazy stuff people have given us.

gillieanne

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 15, 2006

Thanks for all the great repsonses!

I do know that all plastics aren't bad, I was just wondering about the bath books and other toys proven to be harmful. We have quite a few hard plastic toys and I drink out of a nalgiene bottle daily. I thank y'all again and I am still trying to figure out what to do with all of the crazy stuff people have given us.

riverundine

· #12 · Apr 15, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by boongirl
First of all, all plastics have ingredients in them that are harmful. It is a matter of risk, however, and for most of them, as long as you are not heating them, then there is no risk. You should never cook in plastic.

As parents and parents to be, you all need to stop overreacting and do some real research about plastics and the risk involved. As I stated in my post above, there are plastics, and other toxins all around us. Do some research into the realistic ways you can improve your environment before you simply ban plastic baby items.

As for pacifiers, there are pacifiers made out of silicone and other non-plastic ingredients.

And, by the way, I felt the exact same way you did about pacifiers until I had a majorly colicky baby that either wanted to suck on my breast 24-7 or needed a pacifier. Reluctantly, I gave her one when I did research and realized that babies need to suck, some more than others. Being a human pacifier is painful. My dd is 3 now and has been pacifier free since 18 mos or so. You need to be more open minded and less judgemental of pacifiers. For some moms, they are the only way our babes will settle away from our boobs. And, I repeat, being a human pacifier is PAINFUL!

as far as the research i have done, i believe most pacifiers are phthalate-free. i'm still not using one, just putting that out there.
not true that unless you heat the plastic that it's harmless. i've been doing lots of research on this and, from what i've learned, any plastic that is pliable, that bends or flexes, has plasticizer in it, which is mobile and can leech out. for example, this is what makes old barbies kind of sticky. granted, studies have shown that a child would have to chew on something for 20-30 minutes a day for it to have a negative impact. this is enough for me to want to eliminate it as much as possible from dd's playtoys. the research i've been doing is what led me to ban (as much as is realistic) plastic baby items. no reason not to. not over-reacting. just using my best judgement.

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nonniecita

· #13 · Apr 16, 2006

Not all of our relatives know we don't use plastic toys, housewares in our home, so we still get some plastic toys

. I usually take whatever toys dd receives in a bag first to Target, then to Walmart(no, I don't shop there

) and exchange them for other things. Sometimes, there's one or two plastic toys left that neither store will accept and I donate them.
Michelle

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Attached Mama

· #14 · Apr 16, 2006

For a baby shower, nova naturals and www.oompa.com are great places to register. I also know people who register with them to make Christmas shopping easier for family members.

Good idea I thought!!

Nova naturals makes a little wood bowl and spoon for babies. Unbreakable!

It's tiny tho. What about melamine? Not completely unbreakable, but it's sturdier. Is it bad?

Instead of plastic sippy cups, Sigg bottles work well. They do have plastic tops tho, but they are supp to be a "safe" plastic. Also, I don't put ice in them and carefully clean them because they are made of coated aluminum. I don't want the coating to scratch.

HTH!

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BookGoddess

· #15 · Apr 16, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaner'smama
Many toy manufacturers have removed phthalates, but certainly not all of them. Here are some links I found in another thread which will give you a good start for finding which toys are better. These links aren't completely up-to-date, so I called the manufacturers for the plastic toys we have.

http://www.toysafety.net/2001/pdfs/Phthalatesurvey.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/2003-toy-report-card

HTH!
Betsy

Thanks for the links. I'm printed the Greenpeace one so that I have it handy when I go shopping for toys.

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nonniecita

· #16 · Apr 16, 2006

Yea, Melamine is bad.

Melamine is a strong organic base with chemical formula C3H6N6, with the IUPAC name 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine. It's SMILES string is NC1=NC(N)=NC(N)=N1. It is primarily used to produce melamine resin, which when combined with formaldehyde produces a very durable thermoset plastic. This plastic is often used in kitchen utensils or plates (often sold under the brand name Melmac), and is the main constituent of Formica® and Arborite®.

Michelle

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MCPM

· #17 · Apr 17, 2006

Thanks for the links, and I wanted to second wood for spoons!

gillieanne

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 5, 2006

I wanted to bump up this thread because I saw a topic about plastic toys. I also wanted to say that I sent one of the toys back to the makers with a complaint about how harmful the product is. No reply

: I am gonna send all of the toys to the manufactuers as soon as I can afford to. They need to know that people come before profit! I will stand up for this.

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Nora'sMama

· #19 · Jun 5, 2006

Good thread - thanks for the informative links.

ITA with what Boongirl has said - impossible to remove all plastics from a child's environment (or nearly impossible), but it's good to be aware of the different kinds of plastic and which ones may be harmful. DD has a lot of plastic toys but I was very vigilant about things that she mouthed or teethed on as a younger infant, and now that she is slowly leaving the mouthing-everything phase I can relax a little. I would love to have all wooden toys for her but the truth is that plastic toys are less expensive, plus we have been gifted or handed down so many of them. As long as they are not going in her mouth I do not worry about it.

I do worry a little bit about her sippy cups, though. She never used bottles so I didn't have to worry about the bisphenol-A issue. However, her Playtex sippy is made out of the same clear hard plastic that bottles are, so it probably has that chemical in it - I really didn't think about it when I bought it. She mostly uses the 1st Years (?) disposable sippy cups that are 5 recylables, though. I think that 5 is considered safe...I used to have a link about the different recycling numbers and what they mean as far as possible toxicity, but I've lost it, in case anyone out there has it.

There is a great site called 'Ask Moxie' where a mama answers questions that people ask her - and she has info on a sippy cup (actually I think it's a straw cup) that is totally inert, not plastic. I may go to her blog and look up that link again when I get time - I think it's pretty expensive but maybe worth it for the peace of mind, since DD carries around her sippy of water all day.

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pjlioness

· #20 · Jun 10, 2006

There is a new (coming out this month) sippy cup made out of stainless steel with a rubber tip, but I can't remember who makes it - I have to search my subscribed threads.

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