Recent findings in St. Louis discovered that the popular Zhu Zhu hamster pet toy is unsafe. It contains Antimony, which is known to cause cancer, lung and heart problems. It is found on the hair and nose of the hamster. The toy's maker, Cepia LLC claims that this toy is safe for children and has passed all safety tests required. These toys are the latest craze of the holiday season, and in being so, a company named GoodGuide came into play to test these latest toys. The Ceo of the company, Dara O'Rourke, stated to the Associated Press that they have bought 3 of each of this years 30 most popular toys and tested them numerous times. The results founded that Antimony was on 93 parts per million in the hamster's fur and at 106 parts per million on the hamster's nose. The normal amount should be 60 parts per million.
The question here is, why are these toys even on the shelves? If children are prone to these types of serious cancers and heart issues, then why are they offered for sale, when they are aware that they can potentially cause serious health issues?
Think back to when led was a huge health risk across the globe. Parents are more cautious than ever now when it comes to buying gifts for their kids. Stores even sell led testers so that parents can be more aware of what their children are playing with. So do you think it is right that parents have to be so on edge about buying toys for their children? Should these companies be punished more frequnetly? Is there enough testing going on to begin with? What do you think?
Take a look at this article to read more about the dangerous Zhu Zhu...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091206/ap_on_bi_ge/us_zhu_zhu_pets_safety;_ylt=AjI3wOgrCW4wUlFpL6gIQI_VJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJubHRpOXMzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjA2L3VzX3podV96aHVfcGV0c19zYWZldHkEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2dyb3VwY29udGVuZA--
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I think it is important for parents to be aware of what their children are playing with. It is their job to keep their children safe. Now-a-days with the easy access of information on the internet, it is easier for parents to do their homework on their children’s toys to ensure that they are safe. While I do believe that companies that produce toys should have higher standards for their toys, it is ultimately the parent’s decision on what they feel is a safe toy for their children to be playing with. With that being said I find it rather appalling that there are not higher standards for children’s toys, especially toys that young children are likely to put in their mouth. I believe we need higher standards for the toy companies to abide by as well as even more well informed parents.
ReplyDeleteNowadays companies are so focused on selling their products rather than the safety conditions and what they are made out of. Especially with today's economy it seems like companies think it is more important to make money from the product than how safe the child playing with it is. With this situation, I think that toys for children should be tested more by a different source and have to go through many tests to make sure they are okay. I also think there should be a strict punishment to companies that do not satisfy the conditions posed for safety.
ReplyDeleteChildren are especially at risk with toys because they touch them a lot and even put them in their mouths and other things. Companies should be very careful when producing children's toys because people are more sensitive when dealing with kids than with adults.
I agree, companies are way to focused on the bottom line, all they care about is making a profit. There is no way that they should be able to produce and sell products that are potentially harmful and dangerous to a person's health. The quality testing done at this particular facility is obviously not up to par, and they should be punished for selling this toy. Also it ridiculous that parents have to do research before buying a toy for their kid, they should be able to trust that they are not being sold a product that could endanger their children. Also this company and other companies like it need to understand that if their product is of a higher quality then they would probably end up with more customers because there would be no reason for concerned parents not to buy their product. Overall I think that more testing should be done and that the rules should be enforced more strictly.
ReplyDeleteHold the presses! Read the following story from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-zhuzhu-pets8-2009dec08,0,7448175.story?track=rss
ReplyDeleteSeems that the toys are safe after all. Now what does this imply with regard to the power of the press?
I believe that there are alot of risky toys now a days. On the other hand I believe that if parents are worried about their childrens safety they should not buy toys that they do not have faith in. So I actually believe that most of the responsibility is on the parents and toy companies shouldn't be blamed
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