Are there any toy brands that are COMPLETELY safe????

[Shauna]

Hi Hope this hasn't already been discussed, but my time is always brief on the computer, what with the kids, work, etc. I'm trying to find a brand of toys that I don't have to spend all my time researching whether they are safe, non-toxic, chemical free. Are there any brands that ensure this? I thought Plan Toys & Haba were a safe bet and I'm sure they are much better than most but I've found they too sometimes contain small amounts of lead or bromine. Should I go completely organic and then am I safe or do they to pose a threat? The levels in the above mentioned are deemed "low" but seems they should be able to do better than that. I'm a novice at this, and trying to learn quickly as the baby is naturally putting everything in mouth, and live in a small town where there doesn't seem to be much interest in "green" or "organic" as I talk to friends, family I just get, "I know isn't that terrible" but no real direction. Hope someone can help! Thanks so much!

[Shauna]

I appreciate your help, but can you offer a product line or brand name? Its not that I'm trying to place my child in a bubble free of bacteria, but flame retardants, lead, arsenic, c'mon! I went to your website but didn't see any toy brands there and I'm not interested in signing up for whatever it is you're trying to sell. We use only wood toys or cloth and even still run into problems with harmful substances. I'm aware of healthytoys.org and use it as huge resource for toy buying as well as the advice from Safbaby. Still I'm constantly shocked at what is allowed on the store shelves, and how few people are aware of the dangers out there. When I first came to Safbaby I was completely lost and have since become almost a crusader for this cause! I've started a local moms group, so we can stay informed and help each other with all this "homework" or research but of course we don't have a lab to test toys, and this makes it difficult to purchase anything. I now reduce exposure by also buying less, a whole lot less, as its one more way to reduce our exposure. And generally depend on Plan Toys as I think they have a great reputation, and use Etsy a lot too and go with the natural wood without paint or varnish. Gone are the days of Mattel, Fisher Price, plastic, etc. for my house, they've let me down and I no longer trust them!!!! And regarding the clothing, there are about 5 brands we use, again I'm not interested in formaldehyde, flame retardants, etc in our clothing, especially for baby.

http://www.ownadaycare.com/ said:

Good Day! You make an excellent point. I think that despite several attempts to find a toy that is 100% safe and child friendly, there will always be several intrinsic and extrinsic factors that will contribute to a toy or accessory providing some form of bacterial introduction to the child. I believe that only in a sterile environment can you be certain of a childs protection from exposure to harmful substances. The best way you can protect your child is to minimize the risk of infection and exposure by choosing the safest possible accesories and buying items which are approved for daycare use, they have a higher safety code regulation check so you can feel safer when your kids use and play with them.