Do you allow your children to play with shiny and colorful toys made of plastic or metal bought in the market? If so, be careful!
Children have a natural right to play. It is not appropriate for any parent to tell their child not to play or toy. But it is important to consider whether the toys they play with are safe and healthy.
How harmful is the Toy
Naturally, children tend to put, suck, and chew as many toys as they can find. Harmful chemicals, especially when biting, chewing, or sucking colorful plastic toys, enter the outer or inner part of their body through saliva.
Harmful chemicals can have immediate or long-term effects, which we may or may not notice immediately.
Such is the Situation
Our organization called Public Health Environment Promotion Center has found such harmful chemicals in 52 toys available in the Nepali market. Toys made of paper, wood, metal, and soft and hard plastics from China, India, Thailand, etc. contain a variety of chemicals.
71 percent of toys contain at least one chemical. About 62 percent of them have used such chemicals in excess of the standards set by the Nepal government. Studies have shown that up to three chemicals are used in excess of the standard. This fact shows that our children are at great risk.
Most Used Chemicals
Chemicals used mainly in toys include lead, chromium, and cadmium. The study found that 19 percent of toys used lead. Cadmium was found in 8 percent and chromium in 11 percent of toys. At the same time, 68 percent of zinc, 16 percent of bromine, and 14 percent of barium were found in toys. These are all harmful chemicals. Consider for yourself how these toys affect children’s health.
These Toys Are Even More Dangerous
Five soft plastic toys coming to Nepal using another chemical called ‘thalates’. It was sent to Taiwan as there was no laboratory in Nepal to test the chemical. A study conducted there found that such toys used thousands of times more than the standard set by the Nepal government.
This chemical affects the glands that produce various hormones in the body of the child and disturbs the process. It also contains carcinogenic chemicals.
Let’s Read Carefully
Toys usually contain precautionary information, but none of the toys contain chemicals that can interfere with a child’s physical, mental, and intellectual development. But every parent needs to know about the chemicals used in toys. The government’s previous and currently proposed criteria should include information on chemicals used in toys.
What Kind of Toy to Give
Children should be given natural home-made toys as much as possible. If you have to bring it from the market, you should buy a toy that does not use any color and is less shiny. Toys made of paper, cloth, or metal can be brought in instead of plastic. After buying the toy and handing it over to the children, the information given here should be read carefully.
International policy-rules
Nepal is also a partner of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, Nepal’s constitution guarantees children’s right to health. But even today, it is unfortunate that such deadly chemical toys are found in the Nepali market and reach the hands of children.
Our Work
The Public Health Environment Promotion Center has been working in the field of various chemical safety for fourteen years. For two years now, we have been studying the health effects of everyday toys, especially for children. From the same study, we conclude that ‘most of the toys used by children today are harmful to their health.’
