Savvy parents everywhere are buying safe wooden baby toys and wooden toddler toys for Christmas. One of the easiest brands to find at your local toy store is Melissa & Doug. But, many parents may not know that Melissa & Doug’s toys have a sketchy history when it comes to safety and are generally (if not entirely) made in China.
Just recently, Health Canada announced a recall of more than 26,000 wooden baby toys made by Melissa & Doug. Testing found excessive barium in the surface paint, which can cause “nausea and vomiting, as well as more serious health problems, including high blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythm” according to the article “Toy Recall Hurts Company’s ‘Green’ Image“ from The Globe and Mail. The toys affected included the Slice and Bake Cookie Sets, Shape Sorting Cubes and Pound-a-Peg – all wooden toddler toys that put youngsters at risk.
I personally don’t buy Melissa & Doug toys and haven’t done so since my own research made me uneasy with the 
company’s track record. The fact that they are mass-produced in China is a definite red flag since wooden baby toys from China are the most likely toys to have lead problems.
For my family and for our store, I prefer Plan Toys. Plan’s toys are dyed with non-toxic dyes so that the finish is lead-free and will not scratch off. The dye goes down into the wood. As a bonus, it keeps toys looking new. In addition, Plan Toys makes their range of wooden baby toys in villages in Thailand, in a way that truly benefits the community. Their facilities include eco-friendly upgrades that reveal the company’s true heart for sustainable manufacturing. And I absolutely LOVE Plan Toys’ wooden toddler pull toys. I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t delight in the clack-clack-clack sound created by the Dancing Alligator or make quick friends with Sit n Walk Puppy!
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- Essentials for Baby's First 6 Months
- Creative Play for Your Baby
- Hooray! Safe Toy Bill Passed in Congress!
- Toxic Toy Alert – Phthalates
Tags: baby toys, safe baby toys, wooden baby toys, wooden toddler toys
We couldn’t agree more and decided to do something about the lack of choice we saw in natural (truly natural) wooden toys by making our own line of toys all tested to be safe and nontoxic with only natural finishes like beeswax and no painted surfaces to worry over. Thanks for educating the public about the real history behind “natural” wooden toys. It is also good to support local manufacturers who do not outsource to foreign countries in an attempt to buy and live locally and sustainably. Thanks for the well written and researched article.