With the amount of Made-in-China toys recalled in the pass several months, I am concerned about the safety of toys I buy for my baby. The anxiety is heightened when baby Clarisse receives toy presents from friends and families. Baby Clarisse puts everything she can grab hold of into her mouth in a split second. Naturally, most of the toys in her crib are teethers. So it is important to make sure the toys she plays with is safe from toxicity.

There are however members of my family who thinks I’m being overly cautious. But it’s one of those things where it’s better to be safe than sorry. There’s nothing wrong in having a heightened level of awareness of toy safety. Even reputable toy makers - Mattel, Fisher-Price for instance - are recalling some of their toys. Would you dare imagine the level of quality from toys made by bottom rung manufacturers. There are major scientific studies done all over the world on toy safety, and personally, I think we should be more concerned for the sake of our children’s health and safety.

Recent toy recalls has all been about dangerous lead contents. Ideally, toys should not contain lead at all. There is no standard lead level that is considered safe for children or adults. That level should be zero. Parents should only buy toys are are labelled non-toxic.

You might think that the government is in-charge of monitoring safe manufacturing practises for it’s citizens. Some countries have less stringent lead safety standards than some. If you’re in some third world or developing countries, you should be concerned. But that is all in the past. With countries including the US recalling toys due to lead toxicity levels concern right now, everyone should be aware of toy safety no matter where you live.

Lead exposure in toddlers could have detrimental effects on brain development. Even very low levels of lead exposure will have an impact on the brain which could cause developmental delays. Lead is also toxic to the kidneys and blood.

What makes it worst is lead exposure shows no symptoms at all. Damage to brain development is very likely to occur at levels of lead exposure which does not show any symptoms yet. Symptoms will only show when lead exposure reaches unusually high levels. Toddlers could develop head aches, anaemia or gastrointestinal pains.

Realising the adverse impact of lead exposure, parents are also advised to keep an eye on products within the reach of babies which are not toys. Your baby could be chewing away at lead contaminated booster seat buckles. That can of fruit juice might contain hazardous levels of lead in the solder. Or lead used in coloring in a candies. In fact, more children are reportedly harmed by other causes than lead paint in toys. Spare a thought for things which are beyond the category of baby toys.