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Princess Detox: The Princess Jewelry Recall

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January 13, 2010
	Phyllis McCarthy : Head Mommy Ego

First it was lead paint, BPA in plastic, microwave ovens, cell phones, mercury, home cleaning supplies, pesticides, melamine in formula, and now cadmium “which can hinder brain development in young children, according to recent research, and is known to cause cancer”  in princess jewelry.  

With the latest recall and warnings of toxic levels of cadmium in princess adornments and jewelry (which seems to be exactly what my girls are obsessed with at the present moment), what’s a mindful mom to do to keep her precious little people safe? Seems half the toys in my home have been recalled.  Just last week I was looking at a class action law suit filing from Mattel, and after looking through the recalled items, I realized that many of our Barbie dolls, Polly Pockets, and (already passed on) Dora, along with their accessories, have all been recalled, and now they are in the process of making settlements with the buyers and receivers of said toys.  And while this year’s coveted Zhu Zhu got released from scrutiny prior to Christmas, I have no doubt Pipsqueak, his friends and accessories will be back in the news once we’ve all satisfied our “Tickle Me Elmo,” gotta-have-it appetites.

Fortunately, I think we may be on the way out of plastic (and cadmium) toy purgatory. With each year that passes, it seems the girls want to play less and less with Littlest Pet Shop, Barbie, Polly, and the like. To be honest, I’m not sure how much they ever really played with them–certainly not all of them.  We could have done with about a quarter of the stuff that so generously made its way into our home. In fact, just a few days ago my seven year old asked if we could get rid of many of her toys to make room for her arts and crafts room. My kids seem to be as overwhelmed as I am trying to manage all the stuff, much of which is apparently hazardous to their health.

Whether or not you have fallen prey to having too many toys and not enough space, consider detoxing your environment and diet by focusing on what you can control a little at a time. Stress is also toxic, so don’t trade one for the other; focus on what you can reasonably do.  Here is my strategy–I’d love to hear yours:

• Get as many clean, whole foods into your children’s little bodies as possible and avoid toxic substances when possible.
• Reduce the amount of TV they are exposed to; commercials are where they pick up many ideas about what they want or “have to have.”
• Buy experiences and forget the stuff that has to be stored after being picked up over and over and over.
• When something comes in, take something out (I’m still working on this one).

Utilize charities that pick up and community boards like freecycle.org, Share Some Sugar, or your church bulletin board to give away and even borrow or receive some things. 

Read more books, play more games and do more puzzles. I think if I didn’t have so much stuff to pick up and organize, I’d have more time for this. Let’s face it: what our kids really want is our attention, which is hopefully not so toxic.