Hey China!

Dear China,

Please stop exporting poisonous goods. I guess you missed the American memo on legal lead levels.

I have had to take away my son's Baby Einstein blocks, which he was pretty fond of. Apparently the paint on the blue block contained excessive levels of lead. I have a really cute picture of him playing with the blue block specifically. It's in his mouth. It's not really so cute anymore.

Recently Boppy goods were recalled because the zippers contain lead-laden paint. The zipper pulls were named a choking hazard too, yes? Awesome.

A Google search will also reveal several other recalls for childrens' products that came from your country and contain lead. We- everyone, in every country- are trying to raise our kids in a big, scary, hectic world, and one of the last things I want to worry about is lead paint in my kid's toys. Practically everyone under a certain age puts everything they can get their hands on into their mouths. This is a natural and educational response to new things. Toys, of all things, should be safe for this exploration.

Just quit it with the lead. My son will only think that sucking on a washcloth is fun and new for so long. When he gets teeth, it will not be fun for those of us who spend the most time with him to have our hands explored orally. He needs safe toys for this. Because it's hard to find toys in American stores that weren't made in China, we're going to have to demand that your toy manufacturers start following our guidelines for what's safe for our families.

Please and thank you. Like, now.

Sincerely,
Nora McCourtney-Wolf
mother