Toy Recall. Are your children safe?

I used to think little of recalls. That was before I had a baby. Suddenly the world seems a scary place. Especially after this latest recall from Mattel. Apparently the manager of the Mattel factory where these toys came from has hung himself. After reading the deadly dangers of affected toys I don't wonder why. Thankfully we don't own any toys by Mattel but I know many people who do. Just hearing about the risks of lead made me want to take away every toy my daughter touches. So I did a little research and thought I'd pass it on for all you parents out there. I plan on purchasing a lead testing kit as soon as possible. You can find them at your local Home Depot or Lowes in the paint department.

Check out this site for a list of toys that have been recalled, and this site for a press release. This article by CBC news calmed some of my fears and answered a lot of my questions. Definitely a recomended read.

Blog Author's Addition: I just thought of this. When we bought Little Lady's forward facing car seat we had decided on the Cosco Alpha Omega because we didn't think Canada sold Britax (the only brand we could find which looked better after hours of research). However, when we went shopping at a local store the sales lady informed me "If you buy the Alpha Omega company policy states that we must make you informed of the fact that these car seats are made in China." She said they get returns when people find out later their seat was made in China. I didn't think much of it at the time. We ended up buying a Britax and I am so glad we did. After all these recalls from China I would be a basket case if Little Lady's car seat was from there as well. I am a worry wart.