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Article On Dangerous Toys
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 613139" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Thanks! It is highly frustrating to try to find safe toys because you cannot really know what type of paint is used to make them until testing is done - after the toy is released. There are groups that believe the countries that manufacture toys use harmful paint on some batches and not others as a way to save money and harm our children. Not sure I believe or disbelieve it, but I have heard some interesting conversations on it. </p><p></p><p>It is easy to identify toys too small for a child under 3 because the toy or parts of the toy will fit into a toilet paper tube. A number of years ago some group sold a plastic tube to test toys with for around ten bucks but many parents I know laughed at it because a toilet paper tube is a lot cheaper.</p><p></p><p>One thing to think about at Christmas is the volume of toys. Toys that make noise are very popular and incredibly easy to find. The decibel level s measured at 12 to 18 inches away from the toy for safety evaluations, but most children, esp small children, have the toys far closer to their ears. We are raising generations of children with hearing loss that shows up at earlier and earlier ages due to these toys. The worst of the toys are ones that make sudden noises rather than ones who make constant noises. it is the sudden, loud noise that does the most damage according to several audiologists I know. Of course all toys should be evaluated, but it is better to choose ones that talk constantly/consistently rather than ones with sudden burst of sound.</p><p></p><p>It is pretty sad to see hearing loss in people in their 20s and even earlier. My brother was the kind who cranked the music all the way up on his headphones from about age 12 or so, and around age 27 or so I noticed that he didn't hear certain ranges of sound. By age 35 it was very noticeable to me and beginning to be seen by others around him. To have kids exposed to these toys in their cribs or as toddlers, well, that damage could show up MUCH younger. I know that many of the toys my children had greatly exceeded the decibel level considered safe for kids based on how close the device was to their ears. Many of the toys passed safety tests based on decibel level measured at 2 or more times the distance any of my kids could hold the age appropriate toy from their heads and still play with it. A friend of the family is an audiologist and helped me measure the volume of our toys one year. One aunt and I disagreed about this issue and it is her friend who came and measured thedecibel level of some of our children's toys. We were all shocked and dismayed at the volume of the sounds the toys made when held at a child's arm's length, much less when held the way a child would actually play with the toy.</p><p></p><p>This is one reason that batteries did not get replaced in most of their noisy toys. I blamed the lack of new batteries on my hate of inanimate objects that talk or make noise at me, but really it was worry about their hearing that was the reason. When they started using headphones the rule is that if someone next to you can hear your music, you must turn it down. They didn't like that either, but they understood and accepted it. </p><p></p><p>Even now, at age 22, Wiz has commented on the things he can hear that his friends and classmates cannot. Sometimes he wishes he couldn't hear some things, but not usually. He commented on this at dinner a few months ago, and he blames the lack of noisy toys and loud headphone use for his current lack of hearing loss.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 613139, member: 1233"] Thanks! It is highly frustrating to try to find safe toys because you cannot really know what type of paint is used to make them until testing is done - after the toy is released. There are groups that believe the countries that manufacture toys use harmful paint on some batches and not others as a way to save money and harm our children. Not sure I believe or disbelieve it, but I have heard some interesting conversations on it. It is easy to identify toys too small for a child under 3 because the toy or parts of the toy will fit into a toilet paper tube. A number of years ago some group sold a plastic tube to test toys with for around ten bucks but many parents I know laughed at it because a toilet paper tube is a lot cheaper. One thing to think about at Christmas is the volume of toys. Toys that make noise are very popular and incredibly easy to find. The decibel level s measured at 12 to 18 inches away from the toy for safety evaluations, but most children, esp small children, have the toys far closer to their ears. We are raising generations of children with hearing loss that shows up at earlier and earlier ages due to these toys. The worst of the toys are ones that make sudden noises rather than ones who make constant noises. it is the sudden, loud noise that does the most damage according to several audiologists I know. Of course all toys should be evaluated, but it is better to choose ones that talk constantly/consistently rather than ones with sudden burst of sound. It is pretty sad to see hearing loss in people in their 20s and even earlier. My brother was the kind who cranked the music all the way up on his headphones from about age 12 or so, and around age 27 or so I noticed that he didn't hear certain ranges of sound. By age 35 it was very noticeable to me and beginning to be seen by others around him. To have kids exposed to these toys in their cribs or as toddlers, well, that damage could show up MUCH younger. I know that many of the toys my children had greatly exceeded the decibel level considered safe for kids based on how close the device was to their ears. Many of the toys passed safety tests based on decibel level measured at 2 or more times the distance any of my kids could hold the age appropriate toy from their heads and still play with it. A friend of the family is an audiologist and helped me measure the volume of our toys one year. One aunt and I disagreed about this issue and it is her friend who came and measured thedecibel level of some of our children's toys. We were all shocked and dismayed at the volume of the sounds the toys made when held at a child's arm's length, much less when held the way a child would actually play with the toy. This is one reason that batteries did not get replaced in most of their noisy toys. I blamed the lack of new batteries on my hate of inanimate objects that talk or make noise at me, but really it was worry about their hearing that was the reason. When they started using headphones the rule is that if someone next to you can hear your music, you must turn it down. They didn't like that either, but they understood and accepted it. Even now, at age 22, Wiz has commented on the things he can hear that his friends and classmates cannot. Sometimes he wishes he couldn't hear some things, but not usually. He commented on this at dinner a few months ago, and he blames the lack of noisy toys and loud headphone use for his current lack of hearing loss. [/QUOTE]
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