Toys

There's been a lot in the news about unsafe toys in the last few months. I won't recap that, but details are available here , here and here. At work we deal with this issue everyday now. Aqua dots are still being sold in shops in Belgium, despite the recall and press publicity last week.

This makes me reconsider all the toys at home as well. Plastic was never a favourite, and now there is more reason to boycott it. But cheap wooden toys also run the risk of lead paint, so the key perhaps is quality over quantity! I don't want to be all snobbish about this, as most consumer goods are made in China, and European superiority and workmanship is overrated in some cases. However, what isn't overrated is product safety and market surveillance, which is seriously lacking and under-resourced in China.
What this means for us is no plastic toys (definitely no plastic for the new baby to chew on), and good quality wooden or cardboard toys and books.
Thus, my appeal also to family and friends who might want to surprise Mira in the upcoming festive season - please go for wood, paper or cloth :-)
I am making a doll for Mira for sinterklaas, and Jeroen and I are crafting a play stand for her for Christmas. We would also like to collect these nativity toys for the kids every Christmas, any contributions would be most welcome...