Strollerderby : toys r us

They Say – Most Toys Are Toxic

Brett Singer — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:30:00 GMT

NYPIRG, which is an acronym for "New York Public Interest Research Group" and not an ancient Hebrew word meaning "bummer", tested a bunch of toys for toxic materials. And they found nothing wrong! Right?

WRONG.

A third of the 1,500 toys NYPIRG tested contained "'medium' to 'high' concentrations of toxic chemicals." Oh, but they didn't test any cool toys that you might actually want to buy. Right?

WRONG!

The Disney Fairies Fold Out Chair and Sleeping Pad had "dangerous levels of mercury and bromine," according to published reports.

Well I’m fine because I stick with more traditional wooden toys from brands like Melissa & Doug. Those are OK.

WRONG!

NYPIRG tested Melissa & Doug's Beginner Band Set, whose label declares that the toy wooden instruments "are handmade, non-toxic and exceed U.S. standards." Those Grinches at NYPIRG found "high levels of lead and arsenic." This toy, as well as the Disney Chair/Pad, were found on the shelves at a Toys R Us in Manhattan. Fun!

Now, I'm not trying to make light of this situation. But it really feels like the only way to fully avoid nasty substances to do is not buy anything. I mean, if you can't trust Melissa & Doug, who can you trust? (This may not be an issue, since, as Madeline put it, nobody's buying anything this year anyway.)

I should also state clearly that I am only reporting what NYPIRG found. I have no direct knowledge of the levels of toxins in any toy made by Disney, Melissa & Doug, Irving & Wendy, or any other manufacturer or individual, known or unknown, on planet Earth or planets yet to be discovered.

NYPIRG suggests that parents visit HealthyToys.org before they shop. Of course, that won't help if no one has tested the toy that you want to buy. But I suppose it's a start.

Still, I'll ask the parent gallery – when you shop for toys, do you think about whether or not they contain potentially harmful substances? For some reason I think most parents (and this is just off the top of my head, I haven't asked anyone other than me) are more inclined to avoid potentially nasty stuff in food or food receptacles, such as BPA-free baby bottles. Will BPA-free toys be next?

Source: Metro

Image: Amazon.com

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Babble's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide

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Make Your Own Religious Doll (maybe these are non-toxic)

Denis Leary Puts Autism Comments In Context

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They Say: Black Friday Will Be Gray

Brett Singer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:00:00 GMT

So, like, will there be good deals this year or not? Inquiring minds want to know.

CNET talked to some experts in the field of bargain-hunting who offered a few tips for consumers. For example, Daniel de Grandpre of Dealnews suggests patronizing regional outlets such as MicroCenter and Fry's Electronics rather than Best Buy or Circuit City.

While there is definitely money to be saved by savvy shoppers who like to get up at 5am and hit the mall, it may also be possible to get the same deals by staying home and shopping online. Even brick and mortar stores are offering "web only specials". Kmart's "Early Black Friday" deals started on November 2, and CNET says that "some retailers are doing Black Friday month specials." Online-only outlets like Amazon.com have been pushing their Black Friday specials for several days now. So you might not even have to wait until Friday to get the stuff that you want.

One thing I've noticed is a certain desperate feeling among retailers. For example, I got this email from CompUSA a couple of days ago. Then I got it again. And again. They want to make damn sure I know what they've got on sale. Toys R Us has been sending at least one sale-trumpeting email per day for the past two weeks. And Amazon let users vote on which products they wanted discounted.

If polls are to be believed, retailer's feelings of potential doom may be justified: CNET cites a Consumer Electronics Association polls that says "consumers...plan to spend $200 less on the holidays" this year.

One bit of good news, I guess. If you do plan on shopping, whether on Black Friday or some other time, you'll probably get more for your money than you would if the economy were more robust. That's something I suppose.

Source: CNET

Babble's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide

Will Black Friday Deals Be Good This Year?

Maybe The 80s Are Retro

Babies R Us tells breastfeeding mother to get out

Brett Singer — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:30:00 GMT

A reader sent us a link to this post on Consumerist. Basically, a woman shopping at a California Babies 'R' Us tried to use a nursing chair, "for its intended purpose, she was told that she was not allowed to breastfeed on the sales floor." Apparently, this is illegal under California law. Something similar happened in New York at the Times Square Toys 'R' Us; that time, the ACLU got involved, since the New York law is similar to the one in California – breast-feeding anywhere, anytime.

I admit to being a little torn on this one. While I agree that all companies should follow the law, and that it's not unreasonable for a woman to breastfeed in public, I've also seen situations where I felt like it was a bit inappropriate. I can't imagine anyone wanting to nurse a baby at the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square, for example. (I also can't imagine anyone wanting to spend any time there at all, so maybe I'm the wrong person to ask about this.)

The comments on the site are similarly divided. The first one was 'disemvoweled', but I think it used to say something like, "So, they provide a room and that still isn't good enough?" along with something about "self-righteous parents." ('Disemvoweling' means the vowels were removed; this is the preferred fate for potentially offensive comments on many sites. If you don't know what that means, consider yourself lucky that you have better things to worry about; if you want to know, click here.) Not very nice, but does he/she/it have a point?

A more measured approach is shown in this comment: "Personally, I would use the room. I don't see the point of breastfeeding in public when a private room is available. It's not that breastfeeding is 'dirty' or 'wrong'…[but] it's not something I'd like to share with other people who could gawk because of their own insecurities."

And the award for the best comment on that post goes to: "First rule of Fight Club is: Don't get the La Leche League on your ass."

Now, obviously the employee was, at best, a jerk, and at worst was violating the woman's civil rights. (I'm not a lawyer so forgive me if I've used that term incorrectly.) But is the woman in the article going a little too far as well? What do you think?

source: Consumerist, via a reader (thanks!)

image: msnbc (not related to this story, its from a "nurse-in" in 2006)

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Toys R Us Says Government Safety Standards Not Good Enough

Amy S.F. Lutz — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:35:00 GMT

When I imagine the type of retail establishment that would tell the crib industry that the safety standards set by the federal government aren't good enough, and that all manufacturers who want to sell their cribs at its stores must meet additional requirements, I imagine expensive, high-end children's boutiques. You know the shops - filled with hand-knit layette sets and $5000 cribs lovingly carved from rescued wood from the Amazon rainforest.

But actually, the retailer in question is Toys R Us, which recently announced that - because of problems with products that just barely met existing code - it was setting a "wood density standard to ensure the strength of wood slats. It has also set standards for how the slats are attached to the cribs' frames," according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

Because Toys R Us sells hundreds of thousands of cribs a year, experts expect other retailers to follow in its footsteps.

Who knew a giant like Toys R Us would step up and demand safer products for our kids? Next thing you know, Wal-Mart is going to start a nursing support group.

Lower Back Tattoos for Your Toddler

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:25:00 GMT

If your kids are anything like mine, they are very admiring of my tattoos. They call them "Mommy's pretty stickers" so I was pleased as punch to see that Toys R Us is now selling sticker tattoos for kids' lower backs.

Since I have girls (ages 3 to 6) with low cut jeans anyway,

it would be fun to place a little pic of Hannah Montana or Mickey Mouse as a sort of peekaboo pretty picture.

Kids these days are growing up fast. We're serving mock cocktails at my youngest daughter's 3rd birthday tomorrow evening. She loves those virgin Margaritas, I tell you.

Heading to Toys R Us now to buy her tattoo sticker. Her older sisters will be green with envy!

[Photo Credit: Consumerist]

Like Netflix for Your Toybox

Madeline Holler — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:06:00 GMT

File this one under Why Didn't I Think of That. (I know why: too lazy). A Houston mother of twin boys launched an online toy rental service last fall which might solve the duel problem of (1) shopping for toys with your kids and (2) being buried in crap.

Her service works like Netflix -- you pay a monthly subscription fee, pick out a set number of toys that you get to keep for a specified amount of time. You return the toys in the postage-paid box. New toys are shipped out as soon as others are returned.

Baby Plays stocks all the stuff you see in stores -- VTech, Playskool, LeapFrog -- and also more unusual stuff from Europe. She searches toy catalogs, picks easy to clean toys with few or replaceable parts. And she checks for lead before sending new products out. She also watches carefully for damage and safety hazards.

Four toys a month costs $28.99. For six toys a month, it's $35.99. Families who sign a yearlong contract can get six toys a month for $31.99.

What do you think? I'll pay extra if there's a part of the service that quenches grandparents' rabid thirst for buying one of each item in the toy aisles of Target.

Photo: AP

Wow, the Date Rape Drug is On Sale!

Kelly Mills — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:25:00 GMT

Good news for folks who have been trying to get their hands on Aqua Dots, the hottest toy of the season. Both Toys 'R' Us and Target marked down the toy beads for Black Friday sales, at least according to promo flyers. Woo hoo! Get those stocking stuffers/date rape drugs while they last, because at a low, low price of $19.99 at Toys 'R' Us, and only $13 at Target, these things will be real hard to find on shelves. Why, gamma hydroxy butyrate costs twice that on the street. Your kids will be so ecstatic they might just pass out. No, really.

"Now wait just a minute," you say. "Weren't Aqua Dots recalled on November 7 because since industrial chemical they are coated with metabolizes into gamma hydroxy butyrate when ingested, they can cause breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death?" Well, yes. I suppose spokespeople may just tell you the flyers were designed before the recall, and that the beads have been pulled from shelves. But that shouldn't stop a savvy shopper. Just tell the store to put your beads on back order and ask for a price adjustment.

Toys R Us Rolls Out Toy Catalog for Special-Needs Kids

Karen Murphy — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:03:00 GMT

Until you have a child who has special needs, you don't really realize how helpful it can be to find toys that are geared for the particular needs of your child. Regular age-appropriate guides for choosing or using toys can be thrown out the window, since often kids with disabilities have varying strengths and weaknesses that make choosing a toy based solely on age inappropriate and difficult.

It turns out that Toys R Us has been publishing their "Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids" catalog since 1994, but this year they are tripling efforts to get the guide into the hands of parents and others who can use it. I know that my son Eric's grandparents have difficulty choosing toys for him; he's almost 4 but his interests and abilities don't coincide with a typical four-year old's.

I feel a little odd promoting a huge retailer (and what handy timing, just in time for holiday shopping!), but sometimes you have to start somewhere, and I think I'll be checking out this catalog this year to see what inspiration it holds. That is, if we don't give up all our toys entirely.

Things Fall Apart: Wooden Art Cases From Toys 'R Us

Karen Murphy — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:12:00 GMT

A lot of these recent toy recalls haven't surprised me too much; after all, what do you expect with cheap shoddy merchandise like vending-machine jewelry? But I'm an artist and I value having tons of art supplies around for the kids. Mine draw every day. This wooden art kit would have been just the thing, too for a nice gift or something to travel with: watercolors, colored pencils, felt pens, pastels (my favorite medium) and some other things all neatly packed in a wooden case much like the one I have for my paints.

Except that this one has been recalled for (what else?) lead. Lead in the black paint and lead in the ink in the outer packaging (as if you still have that). But recalled it has been, and Yoda I am not. About 27,000 of these were sold under the Imaginarium brand at Toys 'R Us from October 2006 through August 2007 for about $20. If you own such a set you can return it to Toys 'R Us for store credit (cheapskates), or have it out with them online.

Strollerderby : toys r us

They Say – Most Toys Are Toxic

Handmade; Organic; European Toy Producers at Risk

Are You Cutting Back This Holiday Season?

Morning News: Congresswoman Slams Down the Phone on Obama ... Twice! (also some toy news)

Babble's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide

Mini Baby Sculptures Not Edible, Selling Like Hotcakes

Make Your Own Religious Doll (maybe these are non-toxic)

Denis Leary Puts Autism Comments In Context

Autistic Girl Kicked Out Of Girl Scouts

Brain Wave Study Sheds Light On Autism

They Say: Black Friday Will Be Gray

Are You Cutting Back This Holiday Season?

Babble's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide

Will Black Friday Deals Be Good This Year?

Maybe The 80s Are Retro

Babies R Us tells breastfeeding mother to get out

Student suspended for smearing peanut butter on classmate

Kid Rock says kids should steal everything

Mom leaves kids in a Jersey parking lot

Airline removes life vests

Creepiest spam message ever: "we have hijacked your baby"

Anything to Conceive

Teen and Tween Legally Abandoned Under New Law

5 Reasons Breast Feeding Isn’t That Great (and 5 Reasons Why It Is) Part 1

Michael Phelps to endorse Frosted Flakes

For a good marriage, women need to stay home

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Toys R Us Says Government Safety Standards Not Good Enough

Lower Back Tattoos for Your Toddler

Like Netflix for Your Toybox

Wow, the Date Rape Drug is On Sale!

Toys R Us Rolls Out Toy Catalog for Special-Needs Kids

Things Fall Apart: Wooden Art Cases From Toys 'R Us