Green mom's good intentions zapped by toys

She had it all planned out: Her child would have a small collection of Earth-friendly, noncommercial toys. Then Elmo and Chinese plastic entered her life.

By

Patti Ghezzi

Thu, Jan 14 2010 at 9:18 AM

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Plastics, Eco-friendly Products

THAT'S NOT DORA: Plan all you want, but if your child doesn't subscribe to your eco-agenda, those simple toys might not work out. (Photo: hownowdesign/Flickr)

My plan was for my child to have one toy box. If he or she acquired more toys than the box could hold, some would wait their turn in the garage. Every couple of weeks, I would rotate the old toys out.

I envisioned wooden blocks and old-school Tinker Toys. Puzzles with none of the pieces missing and nothing emblazoned with commercial characters.

I conceived the plan years before my daughter came along, after listening to the kids I was baby sitting declare they were bored, even though they had playrooms, basements and attics full of toys. Most toys fell into two categories: sad, lonely and never-played-with or sad, broken and never-to-be-fixed.

Such grand plans

My child would be creative, able to self-entertain and unfamiliar with the concept of boredom. With just a few quality toys, I could take the time to keep them in good condition. And with fewer toys to choose from, my child would discover new joys each day in the ones she had.

When my daughter was about 6 months old, I bought a laundry basket to serve as the toy box. It seemed small so ... I bought two. Two toy boxes. They were instantly filled, mostly with stuffed animals she received as gifts.

Around this time in 2007, I had another motivation for obsessing over toys. Recall messages filled my e-mail inbox. Those wooden toys that seemed so environmentally preferable to plastic were drenched in lead paint.

Thankfully, I had the plan. When you only have one (or two) toy boxes, it’s easy to check if you have a hazardous toy.

Just stick to the plan

Moms were freaking out over anything made in China. The organic toy industry was gaining traction: stuffed animals made out of wool, wooden toys from sustainable forests, soft blocks of organic cotton.

Thankfully, I had the plan. With just one (or two) toy boxes, I could afford the more expensive organic toys.

Then my daughter turned 1, and then Christmas came, and then I started hitting consignment sales to buy clothes, and the toy room was always next to the check-out room, and I started buying just a few Doug & Melissa puzzles, but then she got hooked on Thomas the Tank and Elmo, and the two toy boxes were full, so I just bought one more for art supplies and then one more for dress-up clothes, and then I got some big baskets to handle overflow like her stuffed animals, which seemed to be breeding.

I planned to revise the plan, but it all happened so fast I just rolled with it. For her second birthday party, I invited everyone in her class and her playgroup for fear of hurting anyone’s (mother’s) feelings. Every kid but one came to the party, gift in hand. Twenty-three new toys.

The horror. Plastic, made in China

Most of her favorite toys were plastic. All were made in China. The one organic toy I spent 50 bucks on — a small doll I named Mary Jane — went uncuddled. My daughter loved toys that made obnoxious noises, the ones requiring obscure types of batteries. In addition to Elmo and Thomas, she had toys with Dora the Explorer, Cookie Monster and Cinderella.

They were the worst toys, the toys I swore she would never have. And they made her so happy.

I tried to rotate the stock, but she would ask for the toy I just stashed. I tried setting up a toy library in the closet. Return a toy, check out a new toy. What a hassle. It was easier to just keep filling up makeshift toy boxes and let her play.

Really, Mom, Walmart?

And play she does. Every day. With the exception of lonely, sad Mary Jane, no toy has gone unloved. She tirelessly builds towers with the wooden blocks my mom bought her at Walmart (!) and walks her Playskool Digger the Dog, the same yappy, plastic dog I swear I had when I was little. She played with her Dora the Explorer puppet theater musical book so much I replaced the batteries twice before it mercifully shorted out.

When it comes to toys, I have no green mom cred. Unless you’re willing to give me some points for buying almost all her toys used. Unless you count Mary Jane. Did I mention I spent 50 bucks on her? She’s somewhere at the bottom of a toy box. One of many, many toy boxes.

MNN homepage photo: egal/iStockPhoto

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Comments: 6

Lucy Nov 20 2010 at 1:24 AM

There is a company called Green Ostrich. They sell wood and plastic toys and any other sustainable or recycled material you can think of. They have tugboats, little kitchen sets, planter pots for kids, you name it. The great thing is they are BPA-free, lead free, and completely safe for children. Check out www.greenostrich.com/greentoys. You will pleased and surprised!

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Randy Feb 24 2010 at 12:42 PM

Your story basically parallels the same situation my wife and I have been dealing with. I see all the 'stuff' that looks like it would be fun only to see that it is made of plastic, which will eventually become broken or get discarded (unless it is still in good condition and can be donated). In any case, it will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere. So we have been closely monitoring what our children get. Even stuffed animals are problematic, e.g. the recent Target recall. But so can used

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toys be a problem. Are a complete set of Playskool blocks from the 1950s free of lead paint? Almost impossible to tell.

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Guest Jan 20 2010 at 6:04 PM

Should be more dedicated to your ideals.

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Hans Eich (Ukoonto) Jan 18 2010 at 10:53 AM

Hi Patti, it is very tough. I've been disappointed by this and have disappointed through my bad reactions as a dad for getting such toys. I had to learn how to relax about this topic. I own a little company that makes building blocks (and soon other wooden toys) in Canada and so it hurts me even more to see how much my little 22 month old daughter plays with some really crappy plastic toys. I'm generally not against plastic, just against bad and unhealthy plastics. What I decide though is to slowly "

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source out" some of the worst toys and either replace them with "good" toys and just not get any other ones. We are living in total over abundance. After all, my daughters favorite toys right now, are her (natural :-) ) Crayons and paper. I'm so proud of that :-) Cheers, Hans

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Julie Fodera Jan 15 2010 at 7:01 PM

Used toys and just a little thought is far better than some green moms can muster. We all dream of the clean house with one toy box delighting our child....I have never actually known anyone that had a child,clean house and one toy box. Even the greenest of moms probably have a disgusting plastic Chinese imported toy that their child had to have, it's a grey/green area of our lives where we may choose sanity over environmentally correct.