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SALLY B. FROM WEST VIRGINIA ASKS: Are there safe alternatives to plastic toys? Everything seems to be plastic: dolls for all ages, trucks, and all building blocks from magnetic to bricks. I have been reading so much about the dangers of plastic—what should I allow my kids to play with?
MOM DETECTIVE ANSWERS:
Oh, Sally, you’re talking my language. Yes, plastic is bad news for the environment and for our health. And kids are uniquely vulnerable as they’re still developing. And yet … it’s a pickle. Play is a big part of development too, so toys are an important part of childhood. Which is why I’m of two minds about plastic toys, especially once children are over a certain age and aren’t chewing on them.
Allow me to share a personal story: Almost two decades ago, I co-wrote a book called The Complete Organic Pregnancy. I was pregnant with my first daughter and researching as she grew. During that time, I learned about many chemicals of concern in the average home, including mine. I was shocked. And I zealously denuded my life of as much plastic as possible—and wrote about it. I’m glad I did. Once you make changes and reset, it lasts. To this day, I store food in glass and avoid plastic. But there’s only so much one person can do. Plastic food packaging, computers, and even plumbing pipes are hard to circumvent!
When it came to toys, I was that mom. We had everything wooden. Anything that could have been plastic, from teethers to baby dolls, was cotton, preferably organic if I could find and afford it. Once, on a family vacation in a country with better chemical regulation than the United States, I gleefully bought a plastic doll. Someone should probably have done an intervention on me before that moment, but the look on my daughter’s face when she held the doll—lightly vanilla scented—ew! fragrance chemicals are another pickle!—was all I needed. I had been sapping the joy out of her playtime for years with some flaccid fabric thing aptly named Softy Baby. My kid could not believe her luck. I imagined I’d share her happiness, but in the moment, I felt guilty. Where was the line between trying to protect her from plastic chemicals and allowing her to be a kid? I had lost my way.
Now that she’s 18 and able to describe her feelings about her childhood toys (and about how I ruined Halloween by trading her treats for healthier versions…), I know I blew it. I appreciate her willingness to laugh with me about my attempts to protect her health. Sorry, kid.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m no plastic toy convert. It’s mind-blowingly not OK that toxic chemicals are used in the manufacture of children’s toys. But stress is toxic too. And we parents have to find a way to allow for fun and safer toys without imparting our environmental anxiety on our kids. I messed up so you won’t have to.
Best practices
Let’s go over a few things all kids can do at home to minimize exposure to undesirable chemicals in any toys that aren’t as pathetic as Softy Baby:
- Toys don’t belong in our mouths. Don’t chew on them. For babies still mouthing everything, there are safer products (detailed below). Use them.
- Handwashing is amazing. Allow kids to play and make a mess and ask them to wash hands after—and always before eating. Setting up this practice at home means kids are more likely to wash hands at daycare, school, and play dates too—all places where you’re not in charge of the toy purchasing.
- Got a playroom? If you have space to store toys outside the room where your kid sleeps for over eight hours a day, use it. That way, the chemicals that may be offgassing from your toys—releasing their chemical components into the air—aren’t in their breathing space for a majority of their time.
- Open windows. Even 10 minutes a day—in winter too!—can really help reduce indoor air pollution, including from offgassing toys.
Safer toy materials
It’s a lot of work to avoid plastic toys—one frequently cited statistic is that 90% of the toys on the market are plastic. While there have been many studies done on various plastics and their links to disease, studies specifically on plastic chemicals in toys and kids’ health are few and far between. (Know of one? Hit me up! I’d love to see it.) So people extrapolate. If vinyl is considered the poison plastic and has been linked to cancer, and we know that flexible plastics frequently have hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates in them, it’s good common sense not to want, say, a PVC baby doll. This is the essence of the precautionary principle: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” This is my guiding principle. Somehow, it has never swayed my kids.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of general good advice on what to avoid available. Here are some easy-to-find safer alternatives to plastic. Unfortunately, they’re sometimes more expensive than plastic.
- Dolls and baby dolls: natural rubber, cotton, wool. (I’m trying hard not to mention toys by brand name, but a Barbie is a Barbie or else that super fun movie would have tanked! They don’t really have a substitute.)
- Stuffed or plush animals with foam: cotton, wool, and down.
- Building stuff: wooden blocks are great, but when plastic is all that will do, get to know your plastics. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is considered a “safe” plastic, generally.
- Trucks and cars: there are wooden versions, if your kid is willing. Or choose the safest plastics. Metal has mostly fallen out of favor because it’s sharp and can rust. Lead paint was also a concern.
- Electronics: I don’t really see a viable way to avoid plastic when it comes to phones, computers, and gaming consoles. Choose companies using the best possible materials and adhering to standards meant to prevent risks posed to human health and the environment related to electronic stuff.
- Buy less. The less stuff you have, the less potentially toxic materials you have in your homes, and the less you’re involved with plastic from manufacture to disposal. This is a good thing.
While I’m a big fan of reuse, hand-me-down plastic toys should generally be avoided. Old plastic is more likely to contain forever chemicals or even lead. Use your judgment—a recent-ish toy that’s no longer in use from a family friend may be just fine.
Recycling
What to do when your kid is no longer interested in their plastic toys? Well, reuse can be tricky, as mentioned. And plastic toys are fairly impossible to recycle. Some kinds of plastic are safe to reshare and are always in demand in local Buy Nothing and parenting groups. Share what is safe to share. I’ve seen many degrading plastic trucks dumped in the sandboxes in local playgrounds as a form of reuse. The kids love them! Me, not so much. More reasons to have good hand hygiene post playground fun.
Nothing is going to be perfect—in parenting or in plastic toys. We can only do so much. There are other, bigger environmental hazards in your home you may choose to focus your energy on. Do your best. But remember, it is not up to parents to shop their way out of the serious problem of toxic toys. Join us at Moms to insist that our elected officials place the onus on manufacturers to make safe toys for the most vulnerable among us: our kids.
Coming soon: Mom Detective answers your questions about plush toys.
Tell Congress: Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act