Let's Count Our Blessings- American Made Toys

Here we are the week before Thanksgiving. This is my favorite time of the year. The leaves have changed colors and the air is crisp and next week our homes will be filled with friends and family enjoying a Thanksgiving feast.
As we gather around the dining room table we will all take a moment to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives. Then we will cut that turkey and the craziness will begin. The kids will start fighting about who gets the wishbone before the first piece of turkey even hits a plate. "He got more than me" comes next. "I don't like that" (he has never even tried it!) And before you know it the dinner that you worked on all morning is over in what seems like minutes. Then we all rush off to either watch football or take a nap..hey who is going to do the dishes?
After a long day of cooking, eating, napping, eating, football, eating (you get the picture) we all wake up at the crack of dawn for all the holiday sales.
Wow, what a scare that can be, not just because people can be really scary at 5am after standing in line to get into the big sale, but how in the world are we supposed to know if the toys we buy our kids are safe??? Last year it was lead and this year it is phthalates (found in plastic toys). Are these people serious? What is going on here?
We decided last year to buy American made products whenever possible especially toys for our son. It was really hard for us to find American made toys last year. They are out there you just have to look for them. We became so dedicated to this effort that we launched a website selling American made toys for kids of all ages (http://www.gigglefliggle.com/).

Even when buying American made toys you should still keep in mind the following safety tips:

Make sure the toys you are buying are appropriate for the child's age.

Avoid small toys for children under three. The rule of thumb is if a toy will fit through a toilet paper roll it is a choking hazard.

If you are buying at a second hand store check the recall list at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html

Read lables- some lables will say "made in America with imported parts". You can even go a step further and call the manufacturer and ask them if everything on the toy was made in America.

Play with your kids- we all know how much our kids love to play. It is so fun to play with them and watch them as they learn through their play.

One more thing...enjoy this season. It goes so fast so don't rush to clean up after your Thanksgiving dinner. That bird can stay out a while without spoiling.