It sounds like an urban legend come to life - the must-have toy of the year declared toxic just weeks before Christmas. That's just what one consumer toy safety group says about the so-popular-they're-unavailable Zhu Zhu pets, and some other must-have holiday gifts, though.
About.com Parenting Preschoolers Guide Amanda Rock has some additional information on the toxins that watchdog group GoodGuide says are present in the Zhu Zhu pets, tin and antimony. According to Amanda, the company that manufactures Zhu Zhu pets, Cepia, disputes GoodGuide's testing results. Looking at the comments on the GoodGuide blog, it appears that some folks take issue with the group's testing and analysis methods, too.
For my daughter, once the price of Zhu Zhu pets went from $15 to $50, her chances of finding one of the cuddly electronic hamsters under the tree this year went down drastically. That there is also a question about their safety doesn't encourage me to search for one, either.
Does this news change your mind about whether or not to give the gift of Zhu Zhu, or had availability or price already made that choice for you this year? Do the results of the toy testing concern you?
If the Zhu Zhus were actually available for their retail price I would not buy one because of the chance of toxins in them. It may turn out that the testing is invalid, but if there is even a question that something in the toy might cause my children harm I will not allow them in the house.
Thanks for commenting, Shana.
I think the number of toy recalls and safety issues in the past few years has really shaped how parents react to this sort of news.