While looking at toys for my son this holiday season, I said to the woman next to me, “There sure are a lot to choose from.”
She replied, “Yeah. I wonder if any of them are any good.”
I took her comment to mean that she wasn’t sure of the educational value of so many brightly colored bits of plastic based on cartoons, video games, and movies. But she could have meant that she wasn’t sure if any of them were built well or if we’d all be facing a new round of recalls before we’ve even paid off our holiday credit card bills.
There is a serious undercurrent of distrust when it comes to toys right now. Are they made well? Are they made from things that are bad for our kids? Are they worth the trouble? What toy will next be found to be dangerous or even deadly?
Personally, all the recalls have made me wonder if some of my son’s older toys – ones that still play a role in his life – are safe. Has the government done all it can to be sure? Have years of sub-par work left us still at risk?
Will the local news one day be telling us that the toy bear our kids hugged when they went to bed every night was slowly and quietly poisoning them?
Has yet another layer of our “safe” world been torn away?
December 26, 2007
(0) Comments •