After spending the Spring hearing over and over about Magnetix magnet toys recalls, I finally took all toys containing magnets, regardless of the brand, away from my preschooler. Though I’ve been tempted from time and time and encouraged by said son to buy more, I’ve resisted. I’m glad I did as yet another huge recall was announced this week.
MegaBrands pulls 2.4M Magnet Toys
The figures were sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys “R” Us, Kmart and other toy stores nationwide from January 2005 through December 2007 for about $10. They were made in China
How surprising!
No serious injuries have been reported but, the magnets come loose from scary looking futuristic warriors (another reason not to buy these toys for your toddler.) Most of the problems seem to arise from parents ignoring the “not for children under three” warnings on the package but…I’ve noticed my 6-year-old is not above putting these tiny toys in his mouth while building some sort of monolithic structure.
Maybe we should just hang it up. That is, let’s just get rid of these magnetic building toys. Sure, magnets are a fun toy for kids. They learn all sorts of interesting scientific properties while playing with them. They provide yet another outlet for creativity.
But, hey, I think we’ve found out they are dangerous. Let’s just avoid the pull to purchase yet another building toy for our children.
Instead let’s go back to wooden blocks – big ones, small ones, odd shaped ones. They aren’t always that easy to find but, they are a whole lot safer and actually a better tool for developing creativity than magnets. Really.
When my nephew was in ICU in December, the little boy next to him has swallowed magnets from some toys. He was in really bad shape. I will never buy that stuff after hearing his screams. It was awful.
I am not sure why they are even allowed on the market anymore. I bet if the toy makers saw one of these kids in the hospital they would stop.
You are so right. I think a lot of the toys do not give kids any room for creativity. It’s always really interesting to se what kids play with. Give a 3 year old, an old cardboard box and a few power rangers. I’m pretty sure he will actually enjoy the box much more. Some day it’s going to be plane, some day it’s going to be a house, a tree, a chair, a friend, a friying pan, a paintbrush… you name it 🙂 the power ranger is still just the same old power ranger.
And as of building blocks that are hard to find, I just started making them, because I don’t think there are enough “old school” toys out there anymore 🙂
Cheers, Hans