http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1194...googlenews_wsj

You've all heard about it by now, I'm sure: kids swallow these brightly colored chemical beads and one of the chemicals in them metabolizes into GHB. Manufactured in China natch. Fortunately I don't have (m)any kids to buy for this Xmas season, but if I did I'll stick with books and board games and I am soooooo not gonna buy anything imported from China, at least until we crack down and insist on and get quality and safety standards. She-ez, what next, make-your-own-atom-bomb set with REAL PLUTONIUM!?????

My boy's wanted these for Christmas. I think most Americans would be happy to pay more for toys if they knew that they were being made in America and were under more strict standards. At least I would be one of them. I know everything is being made cheap overseas and usually American's are all for a deal and so forth but I personally am really tired of all this. You don't know what to buy anymore, it could be recalled next week. Thanks for the post.

I saw the commercial and thought it looked like a pretty dumb and wasteful product. Now this news tops the cake! It's soooo frightening I have a 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter and I'm constantly buying toys for her. What if I buy something that harms her? I agree, we don't know what to buy anymore. My son refused to buy anything made in China because he believes that our bargains are made off the souls of others (unfair pay, living conditions, etc). He said the only things in his house made in China are the toys I've bought for his daughter. That apparently is stopping right now. I haven't bought them because they were cheap, because many weren't, but simply because that's where everything seems to be made. I would gladly pay more for higher quality toys. I already pay more for everything else where quality matters. It's all about options, and we need more options.

Our local TV station did a spot last night about trying to go without using things made in China. They followed a family for a day that wanted avoid using anything imported from China. They weren't able to do it. Everything from their athletic sneakers to electronics to toys and most of their dishes were "made in China". You don't really realize unless you start looking specifically for the label how much stuff we import. I always wonder about the safety of the products like dishes, since improper glazing or lead in the products are possibilities. I don't think you can trust the Chinese government to ensure a safe product.

Someone recently wrote a book called "A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy". I haven't read it, but I read the reviews and watched an interview with the author. The mother mentioned how difficult it was to say no when her kids wanted the popular toys that all the other kids.

That would be hard, I know I also saw these and thought, "what a waste of money". But I am sure if my little one was 2 years older she would have wanted them also..anything bright and "fun" looking. I am also trying to "limit" the items I buy that are imported...it is HARD, but worth it, IMO

I don't mind buying imported items, but I think we should be better educated on labor policies of other countries and boycott products or manufacturers that utilize unfair or inhumane methods of manufacturing. I know very little about this and would be interested in learning more. I only learned about the cocoa slave labor industry a few months ago. Why didn't I know this before? Maybe if we were all better informed and took action, manufacturers wouldn't see how far they can push the envelope, and maybe those little children would not have been sickened by toys.

OK, I'm probably not going to be popular for pointing this out, but in that article they cited at least two kids under 2 years of age who were hospitalized. I looked up the packaging and it said "For four years and older." Why do parents let their kids play with toys that are not age-appropriate? Or at least, leave them unattended?

This is a sore subject for me because I have two under two. I always get gifts for them that are for ages 3+. Sometimes I give in and let them have them, but only if I will be able to watch them while they play with it. Kids that age are going to put things in their mouths! These dots look like candy! Hello, it's a choking hazard at best.

Sorry for venting. It is terrible that this toy has already caused so many problems for little kids.

I do think it is hard sometimes when you have children who cover a wider age range. My mom keeps buying toys for my dd (4) that contains items that would be dangerous for my baby. 80% of dd's toys have to be kept out of reach all the time. Some things I simply wont let her have because they are a higher risk than others.

I had a friend purge her house of "made in china" after the 2nd big recall.

In most of the incidents with smaller children, the toy was bought for an older sibling. However there was a 10 yr old girl that ingested one of these and got sick!

I also thought this product looked like a waste of money! And actually the first thought I had when I first saw them on TV, was how lazy are we getting?!?! Arts and crafts is reduced to just spritzing some water on it and poof it's done! Sad, Sad, Sad

Hmmm, good question. That's never been an issue with me since I was an only child -- no older sib for me to get into their small-parts toys, no younger sib to get into mine, and my mom says I wasn't a put-stuff-in-mouther at any rate (my vice was making bubbles with dish detergent and spilling it on the floor) -- but what do you do, you want to protect the baby but you don't want to dumb-down the older child's toys? Perhaps you can tell dd to restrict her play with the risky toys to her bedroom ? Is the baby crawling yet?

I should preface this post by saying I am not a conspiracy theorist... does anyone else think that putting date rape drugs in children's toys doesn't sound accidental? As I understand it, it's not like the plastics become the drug through a faulty chemical process like overheating the material- this would have to be added. Creepy... I'm focusing on finding great books for the little kids on my Christmas list!

Yes, you've raised some good points. One account I read was that older siblings didn't clean all the beads up after playing, and a younger kid came across the leftovers. But I read several where there was no mention of older siblings, and (in one), a 13-month old ate "around 40" beads! I could see a kid accidentally sneaking a few of those, but 40? The parents aren't paying attention! And then the parents played the victim, saying "That company put poison in a box for my kid to eat."

I don't think it's a conspiracy on the part of the company. It wasn't actually the date rape drug, just something that mimicked the effects of that. I just assumed the chemical was what made the beads sticky when wet. I wasn't actually paying much attention to the chemistry behind it all.