As a father of three small children I was outraged by the recent Mattel toy recall. All of the toys were made by a contract manufacturer in China. Mattel said Wednesday, August 15th, that it was recalling 1.5 million toys globally and the recall would cost them at least $30 million dollars. The toys that were recalled included many Sesame Street and Nickelodeon characters, including Dora The Explorer backpacks, which my 2 year old daughter plays with often. Also recalled was the ‘Sarge’ character Die-Cast car from the Disney Pixar Cars movie. The ‘Sarge’ car is said to have excess levels of lead surface paint that could harm children. My 5 year old son has this car.

My wife and I buy most, if not all, of our children’s toys at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the largest toy seller in the United States, with an estimated 45% of the toy business. I am of the very strong opinion that Wal-Mart has a social and moral responsibility to do independent testing of products manufactured in China and sold in their stores. China is notorious for low regulations in terms of health and safety standards. If Wal-Mart wants to continue to be the largest retailer in the United States they would be well served to know a little more about the products they sell. It is becoming the norm recently to hear of poor quality products coming out of China. The Mattel toy recall is the most recent problem in a line of bad products. Recently it was tainted dog food and toothpaste that will make you sick, all produced in China.

Our country has finally realized that there is a fat epidemic and our kids are really suffering. Many children are not only chubby, but also actually obese. This does not bode well for their future and there are only two ways to turn back time and help these kids lose weight. One is teaching proper eating habits and the other is teaching regular exercise. Most kids do not want to get out and just exercise, but many young kids will really enjoy having pedal cars to get around in. These vintage pedal cars are a lot of fun because they allow kids to imagine they are driving around all the while getting that all important exercise. The same goes for vintage pedal cars. These are toys very similar to pedal cars but they are styled like a plane. This is perfect for those kids who love to pedal around pretending they are a pilot flying around. Depending on the age of your child bicycles, tricycles, or even a skateboard are good ideas. Whatever you can come up with to help your child get the exercise they need is the toy that is right for your child.

In a world where technology rules it is quite difficult to find toys your kids want that promote exercise rather than sitting indoors. However, there are actually quite a few different types of toys that your children will love if you simply seek them out. Your children may not be asking for pedal cars because they have never seen one, but if you buy it for them then they will certainly love it and want to play on it. There is a wide selection of pedal toys that your kids will love. Think of the things your children like and then focus on buying a pedal toy that plays on that interest. For example, a kid that loves planes would really enjoy having his own pedal plane. You can buy pedal planes at many toy stores but you will find a great selection on the internet. You can also try antique stores to find vintage pedal cars in a wide range of styles. The one thing you want to be careful with if you buy antique pedal cars is lead paint, but other than that these are great toys!