more about lead and kids

You knew this was coming, right? The situation with lead in toys is so outrageous and unacceptable that moms everywhere are signing a petition to Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stating that "Testing children's products for toxic chemicals must be a priority. No more toxic toys and children's products!"

Of course the issue is complicated, but signing the petition is one small thing we can do to show our collective voices.

The petition is being collected by a group called MomsRising. "MomsRising has a goal of bringing millions of people, who all share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America, together as a non-partisan force for 2008 and beyond. This grassroots, online effort is mobilizing mothers, and all who have mothers, across America as a cohesive force for change. Started this May 2006, MomsRising already had nearly 90,000 citizen members, as well as more than seventy-five (and growing!) aligned national organizations, working together to create positive solutions for the future."

Today on the Mom's Rising blog, Amy Tiemann wrote about the lead issue. There is a great podcast from NPR about it and some disturbing facts, like, "How ironic is it that lead paint is banned, but the toys themselves can be made of lead?"

And if for some reason you haven't heard about the latest recall, check Mattel's website. Thomas trains were also recalled recently,

And, to wrap up with a tie-in to yesterday's lunch theme, don't forget to be sure your child's lunchbag does not contain lead. I wrote about this back in April in my post, "lead for lunch." I have not seen official recalls on these and yes, I found that our insulated lunch bag contained lead by testing it myself.