For several weeks, my youngest daughter has been trying to persuade me to take her to one of her favorite stories to buy some \u201cbest friend\u201d charm bracelets or necklaces to give to her friends at the end of the school year. I had been postponing the trip to the mall simply because I knew it was going to become a costly endeavor. Although the trip to her favorite store was intended to strictly buy the gifts for her friends, I knew that once we were in the door she would quickly identify several \u201cmust-haves.\u201d In other words, the trip that originally was going to cost less than $25 could quickly turn into a three digit shopping spree if she had her druthers.<\/p>\n
In this case, my procrastination paid off. Why, you may ask? Well, I just saw a blog by the Consumer Product Safety Commission<\/a> recalling \u201cbest friend\u201d charm bracelets due to high levels of cadmium! Although I was not planning on going to store in question to get those bracelets, now I definitely was not going to get those items. As parents, how can we be sure that similar children\u2019s jewelry is not equally contaminated with cadmium or other toxic metals?!<\/p>\n Back in February, I wrote several blog entries <\/a>on this very issue\u2014the use of\u00a0 cadmium and lead<\/a> in cheap toy jewelry. The problem is that the use of these toxic metals, while illegal, seems to be expanding to imported children\u2019s custom jewelry, in general, even when it\u2019s not that \u201ccheap-looking.\u201d We\u2019re no longer talking of those pieces that look like trinkets. Some of this children\u2019s jewelry is actually quite attractive. It\u2019s hard for a child to understand that the cool items can actually be harmful to their health.<\/p>\n