Journey with You

I’ve read about potential danger in plastic toys that contain PVC. In order to make the plastic more durable and flexible, manufacturers sometimes even add lead, cadmium, or phthalates. These chemicals may very well leak out of the products and get into a child’s body when he/she puts the toy in the mouth. These toxicants not only interfere the brain development but also may cause cancer.

Why take the risk? I’ve made some calls to some major toy companies regarding this. Shockingly, some major, well-known toy companies are still using PVC. Most of them have stopped using lead, cadmium, and phthalates though. Nevertheless, I believe PVC-free should be an international wide regulation for toy manufacturers. No matter what, there are better options out there than plastics.

Here is the report by Green Peace in 2003.

Grades:
A: Excellent, will phase out all PVC products, or products contain no PVC
B: Above average, will phase out some PVC products
C: Average, will eliminate phthalates in toys for children under 3
D: Below average, will eliminate phthalates only in toys intended for the mouth
F: Fail, no policy change

Manufacturer 2000 Grade 2003 Grade Comments

Brio A A Keep up the great work!
Chicco B A Good effort
Discovery Toys C B Could do better
Disney D Inc No reply after repeated inquiries
Evenflo D A What an improvement – bravo!
First Years D C+ Not living up to potential, but keep trying
Gerber A A One of the stars!
Hasbro/Galoob/Playschool D Inc No reply after repeated inquiries
International Playthings (Primetime & Early Start A A One of the stars!
Kids II D Inc no reply after repeated inquiries
Lamaze Infant Development B A Hope you can eliminate PVC in those last three products quickly
Lego Systems A A Still waiting for the elimination of PVC in train wiring
Little Tykes A C May have been misgraded in 2000, what a disappointment
Manhattan Baby F B Incredible improvement – keep it up!
Mattel/Tyco/Fisher Price C C Could do a lot better – keep working at it
Munchkin Inc. F D Barely improved – need to work much harder
Safety First D Inc No reply after repeated inquiries
Sassy A A Please get rid of that one PVC product – the baby photo book
Shelcore C D Very disappointing
Tiny Love A A Great work!
Warner Bros. F Inc No reply after repeated inquiries

Source: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/2003-toy-report-card

Alice has been temping. I feel so jealous. Actually, I’ve been feeling jealous whenever I see a pregnant woman. There is nothing I can do about it even if I want to get pregnant now because I haven’t got my period. I envy breastfeeding mothers who already have their periods. I love nursing and I really don’t feel weaning Cyrus just yet. It’s just so wonderful holding him in my arms and feeling I am offering him something natural. It’s the most wonderful gift I can give him. I would feel awfully bad if I need to wean him in order to get pregnant. I pray that I’ll ovulate soon and don’t need to stop nursing.

Cyrus is quite handful actually. I also need to go back to work, part-time job to start with at least. DH is not happy with his job and is under a lot of pressure. If he decides to quit, we will lose the health insurance, which is another worry. During this kind of unstable situation, I am not quite sure getting pregnant is too wise an idea. However, I love what Alice said “if God brings us to it, He’ll bring us through it.”

DH and I would love to have two more children. I don’t like them to be too far apart, age wise but there are some realities we need to take into consideration. One of them is our marriage problem. We are not a great couple. We fight and I feel that makes us not good parents. I always feel so guilty when we have a fight in front of Cyrus. He shouldn’t have to go through these. Being a good parent is the most difficult thing in the world, I think. I want to give him a sweet home. I do and I am working on it.

I want Cyrus to have siblings really badly. It’s just so hard to know when is the right time to do it and if you can give them the best environment to grow up in.