ANSWER: Though the holiday isn’t here yet, shopping season is in full swing. Your question gets to the root of many parents’ fears for this year’s holiday. Because of the recent surge in product recalls for safety reasons, many individuals are thinking twice about what they purchase for their children.

This is a great question and the simplest answer is “yes.” The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains an electronic database on their Web site where individuals can see a list of all current toy recalls.

It is important to remain watchful for lead-tainted products and other hazardous toys that may have made it into your child’s hands. Lead can do a great deal of harm, especially to younger children. Even at low levels, exposure to the material can make learning difficult, interfere with growth, harm hearing and delay development, while higher levels of poisoning could result in coma, convulsions and death.

For more information on toy recalls, visit the Consumer Protection Commission’s Web site at http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html . 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me or my district staff at my Web site, RepSonney.com. We are here for you and will help you in any way we can.  

Here’s wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday.