Monday, October 1, 2007
AFTER much deliberation and comparative shopping, we decided on a white, wooden crib for the baby. It's been assembled, positioned and dressed with a protective, padded bumper featuring a bear wearing a night cap with a pom pom.
Crib and bear bumper are in the nursery freshly painted a soft "Boy Blue". Painstakingly, a Teddy Border has been stuck all the way round the walls; and we got a gorgeous pair of green and blue striped floor lamps on sale, and a semi-matching dyed wool rug which was not.
Everything looks great clean, babyish, cutesy. But as I go over the sparkling, exciting newness of the nursery, alarm starts to creep in. As a mother to be, did I actually research the purchases I made properly? In light of all the recent stories on recalled childrens toys and products made from China, did I overlook the safety aspects in my quest for all things bright and beautiful?
The crib, for starters. It's seemingly strong and sturdy, but is that perfect white paint lead-free? What about the glue for the Teddy Border? Non toxic? And now how about that little pom pom on the bumper is it non-piling? To be honest, I just don't know.
So I went online and reviewed a lengthy list of toys and children's items which had been recalled just to make sure I hadn't made any dodgy or unsafe purchases for the nursery.
Fascinating stuff. Recalled toys have an over 30-year recorded history with the very first recall in 1974. It was a toy chest innocently painted with lambs and daisies that got the callback after a child's head got caught between the front of the case and top of the chest.
A year later, the "Blobbo Plastic Bubb A Loons" (balloons) were recalled as they could cause a blood disorder if ingested or repeatedly inhaled.
The more recent items listed include some Fisher Price toys; "Dora" who is some kind of archaeologist gardener; "Barbie" morally questionable anyway; and "It's a Big Big World" toys who must only have a small corner of the market since I have never heard of them. The list goes on. And on. And on. Fortunately, after hours of browsing, none of our purchases appeared to be on any condemned list.
And as I started to branch out my reading to other potential hazards like small rubber balls, old house paint, food allergies, jelly sweets room temperatures, I started to get bored and impatient; and I was reminded of an email which tongue-in-cheek applauded the survival success rate of all children born from the 30s to the 70s.
My generation and those before us grew up with mothers who smoked while carrying us, with brightly lead painted cribs, tap water, white flour, no bicycle helmets, balloons and toy boxes, and we all managed to survive just fine.
Which makes me think that it's not so much a question of taking away hazardous items or worrying yourself silly about your child's living space; it's surely more a question of using a bit more common sense.
I don't think our mothers needed an official recall list to keep us away from small loose toys which we might want to shove up our nose or swallow for fun. And I am sure sometimes we endured hot nights if we only had fans to sleep with, but I am convinced that we were not allowed to get so hot that we dehydrated. We were allowed lollipops but not while on our feet; the same went for scissors. Balloons on occasion and not as part of a meal; Barbie dolls when they first came in, and Lego for a short while. And 30-plus years later, here we are. We made it!
So were we really any worse off than children now whose white sugar is taken away yet whose distilled bottled water is flavoured with fake strawberry essence to make it more palatable? Or children who aren't allowed outside because of the dangers of overheating and UV rays so instead they remain "safely" indoors glued inches away from TV screens and PlayStations while their little bodies get heavier and fatter from lack of exercise?
In a few months time, perhaps the mysteries of double-standard parenting will make some sense to me. But for the time being, I can't help but question why we find it so shocking that small plastic doll shoes are unsafe for toddlers, and that Polly Pocket accessories should not be eaten when no mention was made of that on the boxes. I also can't help but be baffled that we seem to have found it acceptable to pin the responsibility of parenting on factories in China, and toy makers in the USA.
There are many issues in this area which I admit I am truly not qualified to pass judgment on. Nevertheless, until that time does come, for now I think I will just go sit and enjoy the sweet little blue nursery; and trust that when I do become a mother I will have enough presence of mind to not let my baby lick the glue from his Teddy wall borders, chew on his striped lamps and nibble on his woolen rug.
Jenny Malai Ali is a Brunei TV personality who is expecting her first child soon.
The Brunei Times
Crib and bear bumper are in the nursery freshly painted a soft "Boy Blue". Painstakingly, a Teddy Border has been stuck all the way round the walls; and we got a gorgeous pair of green and blue striped floor lamps on sale, and a semi-matching dyed wool rug which was not.
Everything looks great clean, babyish, cutesy. But as I go over the sparkling, exciting newness of the nursery, alarm starts to creep in. As a mother to be, did I actually research the purchases I made properly? In light of all the recent stories on recalled childrens toys and products made from China, did I overlook the safety aspects in my quest for all things bright and beautiful?
The crib, for starters. It's seemingly strong and sturdy, but is that perfect white paint lead-free? What about the glue for the Teddy Border? Non toxic? And now how about that little pom pom on the bumper is it non-piling? To be honest, I just don't know.
So I went online and reviewed a lengthy list of toys and children's items which had been recalled just to make sure I hadn't made any dodgy or unsafe purchases for the nursery.
Fascinating stuff. Recalled toys have an over 30-year recorded history with the very first recall in 1974. It was a toy chest innocently painted with lambs and daisies that got the callback after a child's head got caught between the front of the case and top of the chest.
A year later, the "Blobbo Plastic Bubb A Loons" (balloons) were recalled as they could cause a blood disorder if ingested or repeatedly inhaled.
The more recent items listed include some Fisher Price toys; "Dora" who is some kind of archaeologist gardener; "Barbie" morally questionable anyway; and "It's a Big Big World" toys who must only have a small corner of the market since I have never heard of them. The list goes on. And on. And on. Fortunately, after hours of browsing, none of our purchases appeared to be on any condemned list.
And as I started to branch out my reading to other potential hazards like small rubber balls, old house paint, food allergies, jelly sweets room temperatures, I started to get bored and impatient; and I was reminded of an email which tongue-in-cheek applauded the survival success rate of all children born from the 30s to the 70s.
My generation and those before us grew up with mothers who smoked while carrying us, with brightly lead painted cribs, tap water, white flour, no bicycle helmets, balloons and toy boxes, and we all managed to survive just fine.
Which makes me think that it's not so much a question of taking away hazardous items or worrying yourself silly about your child's living space; it's surely more a question of using a bit more common sense.
I don't think our mothers needed an official recall list to keep us away from small loose toys which we might want to shove up our nose or swallow for fun. And I am sure sometimes we endured hot nights if we only had fans to sleep with, but I am convinced that we were not allowed to get so hot that we dehydrated. We were allowed lollipops but not while on our feet; the same went for scissors. Balloons on occasion and not as part of a meal; Barbie dolls when they first came in, and Lego for a short while. And 30-plus years later, here we are. We made it!
So were we really any worse off than children now whose white sugar is taken away yet whose distilled bottled water is flavoured with fake strawberry essence to make it more palatable? Or children who aren't allowed outside because of the dangers of overheating and UV rays so instead they remain "safely" indoors glued inches away from TV screens and PlayStations while their little bodies get heavier and fatter from lack of exercise?
In a few months time, perhaps the mysteries of double-standard parenting will make some sense to me. But for the time being, I can't help but question why we find it so shocking that small plastic doll shoes are unsafe for toddlers, and that Polly Pocket accessories should not be eaten when no mention was made of that on the boxes. I also can't help but be baffled that we seem to have found it acceptable to pin the responsibility of parenting on factories in China, and toy makers in the USA.
There are many issues in this area which I admit I am truly not qualified to pass judgment on. Nevertheless, until that time does come, for now I think I will just go sit and enjoy the sweet little blue nursery; and trust that when I do become a mother I will have enough presence of mind to not let my baby lick the glue from his Teddy wall borders, chew on his striped lamps and nibble on his woolen rug.
Jenny Malai Ali is a Brunei TV personality who is expecting her first child soon.
The Brunei Times