A few weeks ago a daytime television programme did a report about toxic toys.
It said that a bath toy which hasn’t been washed and dried thoroughly can contain more bacteria than found on the floor of a public toilet.
Toys with holes in them allow water in and because it is then trapped it can become stagnant,
causing ear, eye and nose infections in our children.
I am almost too embarrassed to admit to this, when I was a child I shared a bath with my sister.
We were playing with a plastic toy with a hole, I started to fill the toy with water and said to my sister, ” I wonder if it is full yet?” She innocently put her eye to the hole and I couldn’t resist squeezing the toy which squirted water into her eye, it wasn’t toxic, but because we had bubbles in the water it did sting her eye and made her cry ” Sorry, Kim, I was just a kid and didn’t mean to hurt you!”
Cuddly toys, the report said, should also be washed on a hot machine wash with no added detergent ( this is known as a thermal wash).
A toddler group that I used to attend held termly sessions where we were invited to have a mass clean of all the large toys, I took along the children that I was child minding and we all enjoyed cleaning the toys with soapy water and old toothbrushes.
My own feelings on this subject are confused I can see that toys with water inside could be a danger to our children and therefore shouldn’t be used ( child minders and other early years settings should be aware of toxic toys when using a paddling pool or water tray with the children in their care) but I also believe that children need a certain amount of germs in order to build up anti-bodies that fight off infection.
I would be interested to hear what other people think of toxic toys.
As always questions/comments are welcome and please share this on social media if you think others would benefit from reading this.
.
Thanks for reading until next time
Karen
x
We all need good and bad bacteria in our lives and it is possible to be too clean. But we also need to be careful to maintain a clean environment to play in. Drying things or ensuring things dry out after cleaning, is just as important as cleaning. Children sharing a bath is not being dirty I don’t think. Its not cleaning the bath and toys and drying things that makes things dirty. I am one of 5 and we often shared baths as small children, we never made each other ill from sharing a bath. But if one of us was ill with something contagious I am sure we wouldn’t have shared a bath then. Its just about common sense and normal cleanliness. Another good read. and maybe if people are unaware of stagnant water in toys it will help. 🙂 x
Bath toys can become quite toxic quite soon can’t they. My little girl goes through so many bath toys because I don’t like the idea of her playing with them with all the germs and stagnant water inside them. She has a habit of chewing everything! #FamilyFunLinky
YUCK!!! I am glad we are just about beyond the tub toys! Time to ditch them! #lgrtstumble
We had rubber duckies with holes in the bottom that I threw out because the mold that was growing inside them was getting squirted out into the bath with my girls. So gross! I make sure we don’t have any bath toys that have that tiny hole in the bottom any more.
But I also agree that kids need to encounter germs and dirt in their lives to help build up those antibodies. It’s a really tough thing to balance (like everything else in life!!)
~Jess
#FamilyFun
We have ditched the bath toys with holes in because of the mould build up it is so bad even if you do squeeze all the water out each time and put them in the airing cupboard they still become mouldy. We have opted for bath balls and toys that are easily cleaned with some disinfectant. Great post thank you #itsok
OMG – this is scary. My girls need to inspect their toys this weekend #globalblogging
i remember throwing plastic toys away when my kids were young as they would smell quite bad, especially anything that was used for outdoor play.
I guess it’s about finding the balance isn’t it? I’m constantly replacing the bath toys though, they damage the most.
Thanks for linking with #itsok.
#thesatsesh so i pop the bath toys in Milton every now and then and for the more fiddly toys I add them to the dishwasher for a hot wash – however, i agree that some germs is good, so don’t do this too frequently (about every 6mnths)
I would have liked to have done better on cleaning toys but it fell by the wayside along with so much during my post-natal depression days. #TriumphantTales
Those ducks are fun, but not good as bath toys. I noticed the same when my boy was a baby. Shocking though. #familyfunlinky
We try to keep toys clean but used to throw some away every so often as it just wasn’t possible. Cuddly toys are hard. I know you’re meant to wash them, but many of them tell you not too and, if you do, they’re never quite the same again.
Oh I know I’ve recently thrown some bath toys out because when you squeezed hem black bits come out. Bit embarrassing and definitely not clean. I should probably wash their soft toys more than I do, in fact I might do that today after reading this. Thanks for joining us at #familyfun
I agree with you that there needs to be a bit of ‘middle ground’ – some reports also suggest the more we are determined to ‘clean’ everything the greater the rise in allergies. However, I too did see the report on the bath toys and did think I need to get rid of some of ours as I can see how they could be full of nasties. A very helpful post. #thesatsesh
Back again with some blogger love, from #itsok xoxo
I take toys that have holes and plug them with glue so they can’t get water in them. Bath toys are frightening for the mold found inside them and I always see pictures of kids squirting the water into their mouths! #GlobalBlogging
when mine were younger we were always buying new bath toys they just go yucky so quickly! It scares me to think of what is in there, that duck looks horrible doesn’t it. It is true they need to be exposed to germs, but I guess there is a limit! Thanks for joining us for #ablogginggoodtime
I must admit I’ve never really thought about toxic toys ,especially the bath toys Good blog.
The mould in those ducks are awful – we have thrown out so many over the years! Thank you for sharing this with #TriumphantTales, I hope you can join me again on Tuesday 🙂
I saw similar pics of a Sophie the Giraffe cut open, that was also full of mould. I think germs are good for kids so it’s about striking a bit of a balance. If you sterilise your toys every week, you’re not exposing them to the bacteria they need. On the other hand, you don’t want them drinking mouldy water. Thanks for sharing with #fortheloveofBLOG
Yikes! I can’t tell you how many bath ducks we have in our house… #ablogginggoodtime