A Tiny Rant

Today there is yet another recall in the toy department - the odd looking Aquadots. The newspaper was quick to point out that the toy is manufactured in, where else, China. They then listed all the other toys that have been recently recalled that were also manufactured in China. I have seen so many mean-spirited comments about how we shouldn't buy anything else made in China and it's all China's fault and they're more worried about making money than killing our kids.

Naturally, the newspapers *don't* mention that most of these recalls are for design flaws made in the good ol' USA. The Aquadots thing today is because of a formulation made by the company in Canada. The company decided to use an industrial chemical that the body converts to a date rape drug and the kids go comatose when they decide "Hey! Let's see what these colorful beads that look like M&Ms taste like!" China had nothing to do with it.

There are, indeed, many issues with Chinese quality control that has caused some grave problems and they are working to correct that. But let's not vilify the Chinese for problems that they are *not* responsible for. Even the CEO of Mattel publicly apologized to China for making their recall seem like it was a Chinese problem when it was mostly a problem with Mattel designs. It's the responsibility of our country and its regulating agencies to catch these problems *before* the products come into contact with our kids. Heck, it's our responsibility as parents to do a little checking on our own and spend time educating our kids on what they shouldn't put in their mouths or keeping small things away from the small kids who put things in their mouth. Some things we can't see and prevent, but some things we can.

So that's my little rant for the month and I promise you won't have to read these too often.