Made in China

Julie and I recently sent out an e-mail to a handful of friends and family asking them to avoid gifts of toys that are made in China. We knew that it would not be easy to respect that request (and it would have the added effect of limiting the number of toys she would accrue) but we had no idea that it would be an impossible one.Unless we are going to limit her to books, clothes and DVDs we have no alternative but to repeal our request. We have literally not found a single - a single - toy not made in China. Sure, there are probably a few out there and maybe even a few that are fun and interesting. But who has the time? So we are left with the reality that we can’t trust the Chinese government, we can’t really trust our own government (the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has fought tooth and nail against a dramatic increase in her operating budget) and I don’t really want Lola to turn to a life of teenage crime because she felt her parents neglected her.