Alyx,

I understand your thoughts on parents keeping an eye on their kids, but it's not always possible. There are stages of development in which all kids do is put things into their mouths.

Quote:
The oral stage in psychology is the term used by Sigmund Freud to describe the child's development during the first 0 to 18 months of life, in which an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth. This is the first of Freud's psychosexual stages.

This is the infant's first relationship with its mother; it is a nutritive one. The duration of the oral stage depends on the society; in some, it is common for a child to be nursed by its mother for several years but in others it is much shorter. It holds special importance in some tribal societies where the stomach is considered to be the seat of the emotions. Societies that see this stage as medicinal are commonly found in the Southwest Pacific and Africa, referred to in Hilary Jacobson's book 'Mother Food for Breastfeeding Mothers'.


So items bought for this age are meant to be chewed on and mouthed. It is scary to think you could be buying from a reputable store, and a reputable company and poisoning your baby.

The other thing you learn very quickly as a parent is no matter what you've told your child, they will still want to find out for themselves. I call that the, "I can't believe you did that right after I told you not too," syndrome. I know people hate my examples :) but this one emphasizes what I mean. When my daughter was 3 she had a fake bead necklace. (I was going to say fake pearl necklace, but I already went into oral and Trey can only handle so much.) It broke spilling beads everywhere. I told her, I am going to get the broom, do not pick them up, do not put them in your mouth, your ears, you nose or anything. Do NOT touch them while I get the broom. In the time it took me to walk to the kitchen and back, she put one up her nose that required an ER visit and forceps to remove.

That's kids for you.

No matter how much you try, how diligent of a parent you are, $hit Happens. So being concerned about toys is just one step in trying to keep your kids safe :) I think the rest is just luck.

K