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Mattel's third toy recall: Parents response ho-hum, could Barbie survive?

Posted Sep 5th 2007 1:07PM by Sarah GilbertSarah Gilbert RSS Feed
Filed under: Bad news, Products and services, Rants and raves, China, Scandals, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

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After Mattel (NYSE: MAT) announced its first huge lead-based paint recall spanning dozens of my children's favorite toys, from Diego to Elmo (how could you?), my initial response was something along the lines of: no more Chinese toys, ever! After the second recall, largely focused on Polly Pocket dolls (I have boys but still, Polly Pocket is hard to resist) and choking hazards, I went even further and darkly considered removing the plastics from my family's consumption altogether -- more than one friend made that decision, too, putting plastic toys and Tupperware in garbage bags and divesting entirely.

Late last night, Mattel announced yet another recall, this one not quite so big as the others and focused largely on small parts of Barbie accessories -- the dog from the Barbie Dream Puppy House; the cat from the Barbie Dream Kitty Condo; the dog and dinner plates from the table and chairs kitchen playset -- as well as a few toddler toys, two GeoTrax trains and the lid from a bongo drum in a Big, Big World playset. And I? Had almost no reaction. I didn't frantically root through my children's toy boxes, searching for toxic toys. I didn't email all my friends, using a subject line with several exclamation points. I didn't call my pediatrician's office to schedule a blood lead test (ok, so I've already done that). Mattel, I've decided, isn't the bad guy here; nor am I quite as angry at China (even though I'll admit to a greatly heightened blood pressure when I heard that a Chinese government official objected to lead limits in children's jewelry).

The thing is, while I've decided to severely limit my consumption of plastic children's toys, this isn't about them anymore.
It's about me, and my kids, and how it's time to focus on quality and longevity over quantity and "oh it's on sale now!" and "how can I get my kids even more hooked on TV?" I've stopped blaming the toy companies and the government and focused on my own behavior. Mattel isn't at fault, and I wouldn't sell the company's stock if I owned it -- plenty of parents like the old me will keep on buying toys, comforted by the obvious detail with which the company is inspecting its toys (I mean, really, the top of a bongo drum? That seems extremely careful, and worthy of any parents' trust).

I am at fault for exposing my kids to this stuff, and it's about time I stopped taking the easy way out and buy handcrafted toys for my kids -- or make them myself -- and stop babysitting the kids with Nick Jr. and Disney TV and the toys that shill for the cartoons. It's time I got more involved with these choices; it's time I let my kids' imaginations trump the corporate ones.

The question is: how many parents are making the same realizations? Mattel and its competitors had better hope, not many.

Gallery: Mattel toy recall

Everett and his Diego toysGo Diego Go Antartic RescueDiego figures and Ernie truckDora Fairytale CastleGo Diego Go Talking Rescue 4x4



Click here for Mattel toy recall news

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Hilary Kramer: Mattel, Inc. (MAT): Buy or sell after recall?
Tom Taulli: Mattel toy recall: Lessons for business owners

Tags: barbie, barbie recall, BarbieRecall, china, china recall, ChinaRecall, lead, lead recall, lead-based pain, Lead-basedPain, LeadRecall, mattel, mattel recall, Mattel toy recall, MattelRecall, MattelToyRecall, recall, toy recall, ToyRecall

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Last updated: November 22, 2009: 02:26 AM

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