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This article about a child that died of lead poisoning after swallowing a piece of jewelry from Reebok also includes some info on necklace and ring sets sold in dollar stores like Dollar Tree, Dollar Bills, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only $1 and Super Dollar Tree stores until last month.

 

It's possible (probable) that items like these ended up in caches, since many of us (myself included) visit dollar stores and so on for inexpensive swag, especially the kid-friendly variety.

 

If you spot them in a cache, they should be taken out and disposed of. If you took one from a cache for your child, it'd be a good idea to take it away and destroy it immediately.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11974094/

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Actually A LOT of childrens toys these days have been reported as having high concentrations of lead. Particularly the various metallic jewelry. It is part of the move to have everything produced as cheaply as possible overseas where they do not have the same controls and restrictions as we do. the US does not appear to require much in the way of oversite of those products as they arrive either at this point until it is too late.

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On the other hand, if you like the trinket and won't be swallowing it. Keep it and enjoy.

 

Assuming you're an adult, of course. But these are not the types of things you would typically see an adult take for themselves.

 

You could also be a bit responsible and not allow a small child that still puts things in it's mouth to take such a tiny, easily swallowed object *shrugs* We are the overseers of our children, not Reebok or the Dollar Tree or the lawyers. My daughter has played with all sorts of things I'm sure others thought were dangerous. Heck, we lived in Germany and she never died from eating the toy from a kinderegg because, if it had small parts, I *gasp* took it from her until she wouldn't try to put it in her mouth. Put the responsibility back into being a parent. (sorry, my ranty subject...*steps off soapbox, slinks away*)

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On the other hand, if you like the trinket and won't be swallowing it. Keep it and enjoy.

 

Assuming you're an adult, of course. But these are not the types of things you would typically see an adult take for themselves.

 

You could also be a bit responsible and not allow a small child that still puts things in it's mouth to take such a tiny, easily swallowed object *shrugs* We are the overseers of our children, not Reebok or the Dollar Tree or the lawyers. My daughter has played with all sorts of things I'm sure others thought were dangerous. Heck, we lived in Germany and she never died from eating the toy from a kinderegg because, if it had small parts, I *gasp* took it from her until she wouldn't try to put it in her mouth. Put the responsibility back into being a parent. (sorry, my ranty subject...*steps off soapbox, slinks away*)

 

Ditto! It's the parents responsibility to supervise their kids.

 

El Diablo

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

As I know this is my hot point, I will step away from the computer after this and take up knitting or some such :rolleyes: but...the very fact that a child died (probably one not old enough to have said item) and the parents sued the company (or companies...else there wouldn't have been a recall), does show that irresponsibility on the part of the parents. Small miniature figurines such as are used for tabletop gaming (strategy, D&D, war, etc) used to be lead based. Now they're pewter and 3 times the cost. Why? Because a small child thought it looked tasty. Kindereggs are banned in the US and are considered contraband (you can be fined and/or arrested for transporting them in) because they contain a plastic capsule with a toy or puzzle inside. Why are they banned? Because, even though the package was clearly marked for 3 yrs and older, it was given to an 18mo old who choked and died. We are letting our most irresponsible make our rules for us and dictate the actions of all. Keep small things from your kids or teach your kids not to eat things that aren't food items ...

 

*grumbles* now I'm all grumpy. Time to cook dinner and get away from the computer. Schnitzel should do it. I get to beat some pork chops into submission and take out the pent up angst :blink:

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

As I know this is my hot point, I will step away from the computer after this and take up knitting or some such :rolleyes: but...the very fact that a child died (probably one not old enough to have said item) and the parents sued the company (or companies...else there wouldn't have been a recall), does show that irresponsibility on the part of the parents. Small miniature figurines such as are used for tabletop gaming (strategy, D&D, war, etc) used to be lead based. Now they're pewter and 3 times the cost. Why? Because a small child thought it looked tasty. Kindereggs are banned in the US and are considered contraband (you can be fined and/or arrested for transporting them in) because they contain a plastic capsule with a toy or puzzle inside. Why are they banned? Because, even though the package was clearly marked for 3 yrs and older, it was given to an 18mo old who choked and died. We are letting our most irresponsible make our rules for us and dictate the actions of all. Keep small things from your kids or teach your kids not to eat things that aren't food items ...

 

*grumbles* now I'm all grumpy. Time to cook dinner and get away from the computer. Schnitzel should do it. I get to beat some pork chops into submission and take out the pent up angst :blink:

 

In the case of the items I'M talking about, it was the CSPC, not parents. Nobody's had any problem yet with the items in question, but they're not safe. And they don't have any warnings on them about their content being mostly lead. Small parts arent' the issue here, it's the material the bloody things are made of.

 

Lead poisoning's insidious and hard to detect until it's too late. This is a question of whether or not you're informed enough to determine whether that item's safe for the kid or not. The child that died was the main part of the story, the CSPC recall of the other items was the "and this happened as well" part.

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

 

I think people a responding to the knee-jerk response that we should all automatically remove every cheap looking trinket out of a cache because because one kid died after swallowing a broken piece of metal. Hmm... how about of all the kids who die swallowing coins? I won't even bother doing the search myself. Ban the coins.

 

Fishing tackle. Yes I did a google search. Kids die swallowing tackle. Ban the tackle.

 

Buttons, ban them too.

 

Coin cell batteries..... You get the idea.

 

I am personally not going to worry about cheap trinkets.

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

 

I think people a responding to the knee-jerk response that we should all automatically remove every cheap looking trinket out of a cache because because one kid died after swallowing a broken piece of metal.

 

If you had bothered to read the article, you would have found that several items have been very clearly identified, with pictures and descriptive text. This isn't some crusade against every dollar store toy you might find in a cache. It's a warning that several very specific items, with pictures of same, contain high concentrations of lead and are unsafe for anyone- child or adult- to handle.

 

It'd be great publicity if some kid comes down with lead poisoning from a toy found in a cache left by a well-meaning cacher who didn't know. Exactly how would that affect the sport, you think?

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

 

No what you said in your original post that if they were spotted in caches that they should be taken out and disposed of. There are a lot of items in caches that aren't appropriate for kids, but that doesn't mean they should be taken out and disposed of.

 

El Diablo

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*grumbles* now I'm all grumpy. Time to cook dinner and get away from the computer. Schnitzel should do it. I get to beat some pork chops into submission and take out the pent up angst :blink:

 

MMmmmm..... Schnitzel. If you have a good recipe, by all means post it. Or just send it to me. I haven't had that since I was in Germany in the 90's. :rolleyes:

 

Back on topic..... Lead = Bad, Schnitzel = Good !

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Let's keep this under control folks.

 

There is nothing wrong with identifying how some of the stuff we have around us, around the house, or in geocaches, have potential problems. We can chose which ones to ignore and which ones to react to.

 

Personaly I like the education and will ignore these trinkets if I run across them. I know that kids swallow stuff all the time. Well, except mine, because my kids are perfect and I do everything right.

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

 

No what you said in your original post that if they were spotted in caches that they should be taken out and disposed of. There are a lot of items in caches that aren't appropriate for kids, but that doesn't mean they should be taken out and disposed of.

 

El Diablo

 

I think these particular items, if spotted in a cache, SHOULD be taken out and disposed of. Nowhere did I say that every item not appropriate for kids should be gotten rid of. These things are packaged as toys, and are clearly not safe to be given to children. To my mind, these fall under the guidelines of no dangerous items in caches. The CSPC has issued a recall for them. That's not something they just do on a whim; it's considered a real danger.

 

If these weren't packaged as toys, or said somewhere that they contained a high lead content, maybe you'd have a point. Since they're prepackaged, and in the US anyway, many parents rely on our government's fairly strict controls on product safety, most would assume that it's safe to give to a child. Unless you personally test every item your child gets their hands on with a gas chromatograph, you're in the same boat.

 

Oh, and I really wish people would read the article before issuing their own knee jerk response. Someone even went off about lawsuits, when the article very clearly stated that none has been filed.

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Oh man, oh man. My dilema is getting deeper. I was at a trade show this week, and picked up some trinkets specifically for swag use, including a couple of foam pop guns. Ideal for ambushing your cubicle neighbor, or terrorizing the dog with. Does something like this violate the spirit of the GC guidelines? Its clearly not a real gun, but I suppose that under the right combination of wind speed, barometric pressure, target orientation, etc., a kid could shoot the proverbial eye out. Comments please.

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Good grief, people. I didn't say or even IMPLY that parents aren't responsible for their kids. The CSPC has recalled these things because they've got lead in them. And a child died after swallowing a piece of one. End of story.

 

Nobody's telling parents what to do. If you want to let your kids play with toys made of lead, that's not my problem. But at least now some people know that if you spot these things at a dollar store or in a cache to stay away from them as they're not safe for kids.

 

No what you said in your original post that if they were spotted in caches that they should be taken out and disposed of. There are a lot of items in caches that aren't appropriate for kids, but that doesn't mean they should be taken out and disposed of.

 

El Diablo

 

 

If these weren't packaged as toys, or said somewhere that they contained a high lead content, maybe you'd have a point. Since they're prepackaged, and in the US anyway, many parents rely on our government's fairly strict controls on product safety, most would assume that it's safe to give to a child. Unless you personally test every item your child gets their hands on with a gas chromatograph, you're in the same boat.

 

 

You have a point there.

 

El Diablo

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Okay, I've got to ask. What are Kindereggs? Are they like Easter Eggs?

 

That (the kinderegg part not the rest of the disscusion, I'll stay away from that) kind of reminds me of a news story our local news station did last easter. They reported on a 'dangerous' product that was being sold for *gasp* children at local stores. They built up this story all day, as if they were about to reveal a major discovery. It turns out this dangerous product was the generic prefilled easter baskets that have been sold for decades. Why were they dangerous? 1) They contained small parts (and were clearly labled to contain small parts) and... 2) They came in a plastic bag! *screams of horror* I am not kidding! I seriously was waiting for them to do a follow up story where they realized there were actually very many things with small parts in the store and almost everything came in some sort of plastic bag. In fact the biggest shock of all.... the store actually gave customers plastic bags to carry their purchaces home in! *screams and faints*

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What is all the fuss about lead poisoning. I target shoot and eliminate rabbits out of my yard using a hi-power pellet rifle. Nornally, I grab a handful of lead pellets and put them in my mouth to store them while I'm shooting. So far, I have not noticed anything wrong with me ...wrong with me ... wrong with me ... wrong with me ... wrong with me ...

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What is all the fuss about lead poisoning. I target shoot and eliminate rabbits out of my yard using a hi-power pellet rifle. Nornally, I grab a handful of lead pellets and put them in my mouth to store them while I'm shooting. So far, I have not noticed anything wrong with me ...wrong with me ... wrong with me ... wrong with me ... wrong with me ...

 

First of all...stop shooting the little bunnie rabbits. :rolleyes: Second...stop swallowing the pellets. :blink:

 

El Diablo

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Come on people! Whether or not it is a parent's responsibility to keep an eye on their kids, some inevitably will not do so. In these cases, it is the CHILD that suffers if the rest of us do not choose to respond. I'd rather take the chance at being inconvenienced in looking out for the safety of someone elses kid than to have something preventable like this happen to a kid because I felt it was someone else's obligation to deal with.

 

Also, lead EASILY moves through a child's bloodstream to the brain. This is why children have many more instances of lead poisoning than adults, despite the fact that adults are exposed to much more lead. Lead can be absorbed through the skin, which is why NO children's toy or jewelry should contain it. This bracelet charm had a 99% lead content!! What kind of a bonehead would have been OK with that decision?

 

Even if the kid doesn't put the item in his/her mouth (which I know adults who can't stop chewing their pens), the lead can rub off on hands and be ingested from food while eating or in incidental hand to mouth contact. I don't think I'd be cavalier enough with my son's health to knowingly let him play with a lead toy. There is plenty of data out there showing that lead kills kids...and the one's who aren't killed have all sorts of neurological problems. We can get into this garbage debate over whether it's lead paint or lead toys or lead water pipes or whatever and we can also get into whether it's only a parent's job to protect kids or if it's society as a whole that bears that responsibility, but to me the prudent and ethical choice is to support anything that keeps this toxic metal out of the hands of ANYONE'S kids.

 

I really reject this notion that parent's should always be "on their own" in looking out for their kids and that we don't all suffer when parent's don't/can't make the right choices for their children.

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You haven't had a kinder surprise. These were great toys and treats for my kids. You get a hollow chocolate egg about the size of a grade A large egg. Inside would be a small plastic capsual that contained a toy or puzzle that the kid could put together. They make a whole series each year and they were a great excuse to eat chocolate. NOt that any one should have to have an excuse to eat chocolate.

 

Back on subject. Most older homes have copper pipe and tin/lead solder in the water pipes. Like anything large doses over time will be extremely harmful. Is some dollar store swag dangerous probably, however overall most geocachers are a responsible lot. We may put alot of dollar store stuff in caches but for the most part its not junk and i find for the most part in a world that lacks in common sense there is an abundance in the group that involves itself in this sport.

 

I will pay attention to the stuff i get from my local dollar stores when i shop and keep this issue in mind. I will as a responsible parent watch my kids and monitor what they are getting from the caches.

 

Pesonally im okay with water pipes with a little bit of lead in the solder, or the asbestos cement water lines running through most cities in north america. I don't even want to think about places like mexico, or thialand.

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:) I can safely say that I don't have to worry about this happening to my children, as they are constantly running with scissors to hurry and go play in traffic. As I remove my tongue from my cheek I will agree that just because someone can reproduce, it doesn't mean that they are automatically a qualified parent. There are many children out there who have these people; who are as dumb as a bag of hammers; as parental units. It's unfortunate, and I would love nothing more than to be able to smack the crap out of them when I see a child suffering because of their ineptitude. However, the laws of this great land of ours prevents me from doing that (if I get caught, mind you). It can never hurt if we as responsible adults keep a watchful eye on any and every child no matter whom they belong to. And remember; if their rock headed parent tells you to mind your own business, just apologize and offer them a Reebok candy bracelet ! Just tell them it's beer flavored... grown ups only. :)
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