Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Every year in America millions of dangerous children’s products are pulled off the market, but the past year brought some truly startling revelations about the perils lurking in our children’s toy boxes.
Throughout much of 2007, Americans awoke to almost daily news reports of toys being recalled because they posed various hazards, including dangerous levels of toxic lead paint. These were not just any toys but longtime favorites such as Barbie dolls, Thomas & Friends trains, Polly Pockets and Tickle Me Elmo dolls.
Most of these toys, while distributed by well-known U.S. brands such as Mattel and Fisher-Price, were being manufactured in China and imported for sale in the United States. In all, more than 45 million toys and children’s products were recalled in 2007, prompting Consumers Union to call it the “Year of the Recall.”
Perhaps most disturbing, as lawsuits were filed by the parents of children who had died from dangerous toys and elected officials on Capitol Hill and across the nation started asking tough questions, we learned that the government agency charged with protecting our kids against toxic toys, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, was a sleeping, toothless guard dog.
At the same time U.S. companies were outsourcing most toy manufacturing to China and other foreign countries – countries with virtually no regulatory oversight – the safety commission had been slowly de-funded and downsized by the Bush administration. In testimony on Capitol Hill, the acting director of the commission testified that the agency had only one person on staff to test new toys. What we learned, in a nutshell, is that no one was protecting our children against toxic toys and dangerous products.
The good news is that help is on the way.
Congress recently passed, and President Bush has signed, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which bans lead in all toys, among other things. It doubles the safety commission’s budget over the next six years and gives it authority to impose harsher civil penalties. In addition, it provides new protections for whistleblowers and creates a computerized clearinghouse for consumer complaints. The bill also bans the use of certain types of phthalates, a chemical used to soften plastic, in children’s products.
The Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn Foundation for Children’s Advocacy, also known as HKQ Kids, applauds Congress for taking the lead on this urgent issue. Of all the things the federal government spends money on, regulating the safety of children’s products and toys is not a place to pinch pennies. While there is much more work to be done, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a good start.