Why Second-hand toys are dangerous for kids —Experts

MOST schools and parents are happy to have ‘hand-me-down’ or donated plastic toys, which are durable and can be washed, rather than buying expensive new toys.

Certainly, seeing delighted children unwrap a shiny new present can give anyone a dose of unadulterated joy.  But experts are warning parents against letting children play with second-hand plastic toys, as they could contain ‘high concentrations of toxic chemicals’.

They want parents to be more cautious of toys that are sized or shaped in a way that they can be put into a child’s mouth, especially old ones that were chipped or flaking, making it more likely that bits of the plastics had been eaten.

The warning came after researchers at The University of Plymouth analysed 200 used toys, including cars, trains, construction products, figures and puzzles. All the toys were of the size that could be chewed by young children.

They were picked from homes, nurseries and charity shops and subjected to various laboratory tests to see if they met or exceeded current European Union safety standards.

Analysis of these toys showed high concentrations of chemicals, which are chronically toxic to children over an extended period of time, even if in low levels. It was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Traces of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, antimony and selenium were found. Many of the toys contained detectable amounts of at least one of the chemicals and at concentrations that were too high to meet safety standards.

A separate analysis on 26 of these toys to see if they comply with the limits set by the European Council’s Toy Safety Directive found 10 failed this test because they were secreting too much bromine, cadmium or lead. Red, yellow or black plastics were the worst offenders.

An acid test that was used to see if chemicals were likely to be absorbed into the body if swallowed found red and yellow Lego bricks, jewellery beads, and figures (such as animal models) most likely to do this when swallowed.

While modern toys marketed in the EU are approved under the Toy Safety Directive, there is no regulation covering the recycling or resale of older toys.

But Dr Adeniyi Ogundiran, a medical practitioner who retired from World Health Organisation (WHO) but currently teaching at the University of Connecticut, stated that “parents should be concerned about the possibility of second-hand toys being toxic to children. It is a matter of concern because these are made mostly from plastics.”

According to Dr Ogundiran, “Toxic products are released for instance when plastics are exposed to direct sun. You will recall, when you expose your car to sunlight, the dashboard which is made of plastics can emit some substances that contain benzene products.”

He added, “It is not only toys, there are other materials that are imported here that are uncensored. We just take them and we expose our children who are vulnerable to them. So we should be wary of what we expose them to.”

Dr Ogundiran said toys, like other items, also have expiry dates and if they are second-hand, parents should not buy toys whose paints are peeling off or defective.

Surprisingly, Dr Olubayo Akinosun, Head of Department of Chemical Pathology, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan said it is not just second-hand tops that may be toxic to children, adding that  even some brand new toys are also toxic because of the levels of chemicals they contain.

Dr Akinosun added, “Of recent, some Chinese toys were withdrawn from American market because of the toxicity of these toys, so whether second hand or brand new, they can be toxic.”

He said aside from the plastics the toys are made from being toxic, some of the paints used to coat them in order to make them look attractive are also toxic

He declared that it was quite unfortunate that parents may not be able to recognise toys that may be hazardous to their children’s wellbeing since they sometimes do not carry any label or take time to read such labels or what is written on its package to know its content or the precautions that need to be taken.

“But most of those things are not part of what you see in the developing countries. That is the problem and that is why toys are not just meant for children to be putting into their mouths, even the rubber ones,” he declared.

According to him, “The quality of plastics will tell you whether it is the one that will leach or not, so also its colour code whether it is yellow, red and so on.

“There are dyes that should not be eaten so, follow the instructions on the toy. Sometimes, they tell you that the toy should be washed before it is used. They also indicate the age group that can play with the toy; all those instructions must be followed.

“Children, as they are growing, are susceptible to different diseases and it is behaviour specific too. The little baby will bite with their mouth, but older children will not behave that way. So when you look at a toy, a lot of them have to meet certain standards for the age range based on the behaviour of that age range.”

However, he declared that children who play with ‘toxic’ toys are exposed to a range of health and development problems which could complicate their lives.

Arsenic is a toxin linked to developmental defects, neurotoxicity, skin lesions, cardiovascular conditions, and even cancer while cadmium is a hormone disruptor associated with breast cancer. Exposure to lead can jeopardise the brain and the nervous system.

Lead disrupts the chemistry in the kidneys, brain and bones, which can harm bone and tooth production, and lead to learning disabilities, reduced mental capacity and kidney failure.

Nonetheless, Dr Akinosun said that much as play is essential for healthy and normal childhood development, children are better off playing with natural things, adding “wooden playthings typically don’t contain any chemical-filled plastics.”

He declared: “In those days, people were not playing with these toys, they were making toys themselves; they were building things for themselves, they were constructing with the natural things in the environment.”

Dr Akinosun advised that since goods that are bought second-hand are not going to have the same safety assurances, parents should weigh up these risks, especially when giving their children toys that are very old and could have also mechanically deteriorated over time.