Last year’s toy recalls for lead paint-contaminated toys scared most parents. Lead is a potent neurotoxin, particularly harmful to children’s developing brains. Lead exposure may result in developmental disabilities, cognitive impairment, slowed growth, damage to the central nervous system and has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Children are particularly susceptible to lead exposure because of their smaller size, greater rate of absorption of lead and ongoing development. As a result, lead paint-contaminated toys can pose a problem, particularly for younger children still prone to mouthing toys. But even children who don’t mouth toys are still at risk of exposure to lead if the toys contain lead-contaminated paint. If children play with a toy and lead dust comes off in their hands, they can ingest the dust from their hands, or paint chips can be ingested. Even a contaminated paint chip the size of a staple can elevate a child’s blood lead level.

A safe, eco-friendly option is Plan Toys’ Shape Matching Toy, $19.50, which combines six different puzzles on a board. The child matches the corresponding halves to fit within the spaces on the board. The board is slanted for easy use, the brightly colored pieces are attention-grabbing, and it’s great for helping kids learn to differentiate colors, shapes and forms.

The best part? Plan Toys products, like the Plan Toys Pirate Ship we mentioned not too long ago, are produced from preservative free rubberwood (recycled from rubber trees no longer able to produce latex). Plan Toys uses a non-formaldehyde glue and has achieved E0 certification – the highest safety rating against formaldehyde exposure in wood products. All of the dyes are non-toxic, wate- based vegetable dyes with no heavy metals – and of course, no lead. Plus, paper inserts are printed on recycled paper with soy inks.

To find out more about finding safe, lead-free toys, check out the Daily Green’s Safe Toy Watch.

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