Toys arrive at pediatric unit on schedule

WEST CHESTER — The toys are gifts for all the children who end up in the pediatric unit or in the emergency room at Chester County Hospital.

But two little patients got a special treat on Sunday – they were there when bags and bags of them arrived.

Grace, 3, picked out a doll she named Snow White. “Why, it looks just like you, Gracie,” said a nurse.

A few minutes later Benny, 2, came out with his mom to the hallway outside the nurses’ station. “Another customer,” chuckled Jerry Corrado, leaning against the counter.

Benny inspected rather carefully a Mickey Mouse toy. But then a Hess truck was offered for inspection. The mouse went into the one hand of Joan Corrado while the truck was snagged from the other hand by the child.

Adults cheered.

For several years, Joan and husband Jerry Corrado have been collecting toys for the kids from visitors to their Christmas light display in East Bradford. The suggestion is simple: Drive by to see the dazzling holiday lights in the yard, leave a present in the box next to Santa Claus to take to the hospital.

The dolls and toys end up as special gifts for children or in the play room of the pediatric unit. Some end up as comfort toys for children who end up in the Emergency Room for treatment.

Grace, her new doll, and her mother wandered off into the playroom to sing Christmas songs while the adults loomed over the large plastic bags containing the 620 toys collected through Saturday from the display.

Jerry Corrado has been through a rough patch. He came down with a cancerous tumor on his kidney and had over half of the organ removed just after Thanksgiving. After making it back home from the surgery in Philadelphia, he ended up in Chester County Hospital for two weeks due to complications.

Joan Corrado said friends and neighbors pitched in to help her make it through the holiday season to manage the lights and gifts. “People were wanting to help,” she said.

Sunday was delivery day, one day after Jerry got out of the hospital as a patient. “I hope to stay out of here for a while,” he said with a smile. At that, when finished at pediatrics, he was off with his daughter Amanda to visit his new pals he made on the nursing staff while a patient.

The display at 1102 Nobb Hill Drive in East Bradford is up until New Year’s.

Barbies for girls, cars for boys? Let toys be toys and get them gender neutral presents this Christmas

Seven days and counting. Are little Jack’s Transformers all wrapped and ready to go? Are you excited about the look on Emily’s face when she opens her Barbie Dream House play set? Or are you of the new and growing band of parents who this Christmas said: ‘Sod it, my child is a child and not a gender stereotype’?

Throughout 2013 the campaign group Let Toys Be Toys has been canvassing the UK’s largest retailers to remove gender labels and “organise toys by genre not gender”. Ten thousand petition signatures later, they revealed the results of their November 2013 survey which found that the proportion of shops using ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ labels on products has reduced by 60 per cent compared with last Christmas.

The campaign organisers are adamant, however, that it’s “just gaining momentum”, and today the issue stepped up a gear when Marks and Spencer announced that they will make all of their toys gender neutral by 2014 after a public lambasting by the Independent’s own Jane Merrick and powerhouse politician Stella Creasy.

While there may be something innately attractive to some young girls about the swoosh and sweep of a silky princess ball gown, and some boy-sterous young lads will always be partial to a game of rough-and-tumble, the harm that gender-specific toys could do to the development of a child shouldn’t be downplayed.

From a young age children take cues about their assigned gender roles from the world around them. Is it any wonder then, that with the deluge of guns, cars and war toys, so many men grow up feeling they need to be “macho” and “hard”? Or that the dollies, ponies, cooking and caring toys aimed at little girls may have contributed to the number of women in science, technology and engineering roles standing at only 13 per cent?

This is all without even delving into the can of worms that is Barbie, whose unattainable and unrealistic body proportions have been blamed as an influence on young girls’ poor body image. In 2006 the University of Sussex compared the effects of exposing young girls to images of Barbie versus a full-figured doll, and found that “early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls’ body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling.”

Although some people criticise the “thrusting” of gender and feminist politics on children, it’s the parents’ responsibility to guard them against insidious advertising. Retailers use pink and blue to divide and conquer, and target young, impressionable, profitable minds who may choose a toy because they think they should, and then grow up with this precept. Of course boys should be allowed their racing tracks and Action Men, and girls should be allowed to play with saccharine dolls to their hearts’ contents - as long as these decisions are made autonomously.

Recently, I attended the press launch for a new dress-up section within a well-known children’s brand store, and was silently galled at what I saw. The little girls were in princess heaven, but one small boy was unhappy. His mother, somewhat exasperated, explained: “He wants to be a witch, silly billy! We’ve told him he’s a knight!”

I say, let him be a witch - with a wig and dress to boot. Let boys be witches or hairdressers or pony-handlers or fairies. And let them be free of the machismo insecurity that from the youngest age prevents them from picking up anything pink. Let girls play in the dirt, and wrestle, and crash cars and fight robots. Childhood is the most creative and imaginative stage in any human’s lifetime: who knows what children will think of or become if we free them from the subconscious shackles of gender conformity.

Avid toy collector isn't kidding around

Bill Kochan offers a word of caution before opening the front door of his apartment in Huntington Beach.

“Don't go inside my house and ask what's new,” he says while turning the lock to enter. He thrusts open the wooden door but stops it before it hits a toy metal truck.

“I've been collecting vintage toys for 30 years now,” he says, his eyes smiling.

For Kochan, a Navy veteran and retired advertising executive, returning home every day is to step inside his own toy emporium.

“You don't want to know that story,” the 74-year-old toy collector says while laughing when asked what got him to start his collection, which the Canadian television show “Extreme Collectors” estimates is worth about $200,000.

Kochan bounds over to a china cabinet showcasing lead soldiers. “This is (how) I started my collection,” he says. “I was buying a birthday gift and walked past an antique show and I saw these lead toys. The saleswoman said to me, ‘This is a piece of your childhood.'”

Kochan bought 35 pieces for $2 each on that day back in the 1980s. Then he found little tanks to go with the soldiers. And then he expanded the collection to 200 pieces.

“I never had a toy in my life until I bought these,” he says. “Growing up in the Bronx, we never had toys. The reason I have the collection is because we didn't have a collection, like most people.”

He glances at his favorite piece, a 15-pound Keystone dump truck from the 1920s. He hoists it up as a dumbbell. “Wind it up and watch the dumper move,” he says as he cranks the truck's lever. “I have a respect for how it's made. It's a big bad boy.”

Then there's his other favorite piece: the Sonny toy Army truck from the 1930s. “It's so heavy,” he says. “I bought this while I was in the Poconos,” referring to the Pennsylvania mountains. “I wanted to wear it on my head, I was so proud.”

He carefully places the truck back onto the carpeted floor, in front of the bookshelves that showcase Tonka fire trucks, Holsum bread delivery trucks, milk trucks, ambulances and, well, more.

“Oh, this one is valuable,” he says, his eyes widening. The $1,200 red truck with its sturdy black wheels labeled “Tonka Express” is coveted because of its rarity. “It's based on a number of pieces Tonka made. Tonka released just a few of these in the 1950s.”

His oldest piece? A toy made in Germany with its earliest patent being 1903. Wind it up and the character moves up and down, tap dancing.

“You hold on to old things and to me, they are beautiful. I love my toys.”

How to Spot Dangerous Toys

For anyone planning to give a child a gift, the last thing they want to do is give those special little ones something that could severely injure them or even lead to their death.

Even though the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued only 31 toy recalls in fiscal year 2013, toys that are deemed safe can end up on store shelves, only later to be found dangerous.

In November, the CPSC and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 200,000 unsafe toy dolls from China at U.S. ports. The dolls contained phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more flexible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that while the human health effects of exposure to low levels of phthalates are unknown, research has shown some affect the reproductive system of lab animals.


When toys aren't intercepted before becoming available to consumers, the results can be tragic. Only five days before last Christmas, a baby toy with an animal head and arms designed to be tugged back and forth was recalled because the rattling beads inside its clear plastic sphere can be released. The CPSC concluded this flaw posed a choking hazard – a common reason for recalls. In January, another recall was issued for small magnetic balls that could kill a child if swallowed.

The good news for shoppers is there are common traits dangerous toys have that you can lookout for, and parents can also take certain steps to reduce the risk that their child is injured by a toy. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding which toys to purchase this year.

Riding toys. The majority of the 11 toy-related deaths reported so far in fiscal year 2013 for children under 15 were from riding toys. Most incidents involved tricycles and nonmotorized scooters, with four victims riding tricycles into swimming pools and drowning, and one child receiving a fatal head injury after his tricycle toppled. Two children rode nonmotorized scooters into traffic and were killed by cars.

While no injuries were sustained in the April recall of the popular Urban Shredder ride-on toy, there were 17 reports of the battery-operated toys accelerating unexpectedly, causing the rider to lose control and possibly fall off.

Choking hazards. Asphyxiation and aspiration were the next leading causes of toy-related fatalities, according to the CPSC. Two deaths involved balloons and one involved a stuffed animal, which a 7-month-old girl had pushed against the side of her face in her crib, causing her to die of suffocation. To avoid similar incidents, the CPSC recommends keeping deflated or broken balloons away from children younger than 8.

[Read: The Holiday Gift for Kids That Keeps Giving.]

Toys with small parts that can detach, such as a stuffed animal's eyes, can be a choking hazard for children under age 3, though some older children may still put dangerous objects in their mouths, says Nikki Fleming, a spokeswoman for the CPSC. A warning label that states a toy isn't meant for children under 3 may not be enough, Fleming says.

"No one knows your child as well as you as far as still mouthing objects," she says, adding that parents should keep toys with small parts away from their children, no matter how young, if they know that they put a lot of things in their mouths.

Swallowing a battery or magnet can also cause poisoning, says Dr. Young-Jin Sue, a pediatrician at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, N.Y. Battery compartments should be made difficult for a child to open, since ingested button batteries may leak toxic compounds, and ingesting small, super-strong magnets may cause intestinal punctures, Sue says.

"In general, toys small enough to hide inside a cardboard toilet paper roll may present the most risk" for choking, she says. "Try to avoid these items, and stick to larger toys with few detachable parts."

Toys that break easily. Toys made of plastic or glass that can break or shatter during use can be dangerous, though not deadly. An estimated 192,000 toy-related injuries to children under 15 in calendar year 2012 required treatment at a hospital emergency department, according to the CPSC. The CPSC reported that a 3-year-old girl cut her foot while playing with a plastic and glass toy that broke, and a 9-year-old girl cut her wrist on a broken porcelain doll.

Toy store 'pops up' on Madison

Just in time for the Forest Park Holiday Walk on Madison Street, a new "pop-up" toy store has opened at 7502½ Madison.

Harrison Holiday Toys features favorites from Harrison and Company, a toy and children's furniture firm in Broadview. Co-owner Mary Grace Harrison is an Oak Parker.



The items for sale are the same educational toys sold to daycares and preschools, said manager Tiffany Harrison.

"They are developmentally appropriate for birth to 7, made from recyclable woods and made in the USA," she said.

For Friday's event, Harrison will break out the play tables with colorful wooden trains and big wooden push cars. She said perennial favorites include "butterfly silk wings" that attach to children's arms, pretend food (shish-kebobs are a hit), and chef aprons.

The toy parking garage with crank elevator is another favorite, she said. "Grownups don't get excited about parking garages, but 4-year-olds do."

The store targets parents and grandparents who searched and failed to find simple wooden blocks at Toys R Us.

"There are no limits on these toys. A lot of parents have limits on toys with screens and batteries. Kids can play with these toys as long as they want," Harrison said.

"I think there's space for all different kinds of toys," she added. "A child can do a puzzle on their iPad, but it's another experience to get the fine motor skills and work physically to do a puzzle."

Harrison said the welcome from Forest Parkers has been warm.

"We're considering opening a store here," she said. But for now, the shop will stay open just until 5 p.m., Christmas Eve.

Report Warns Parents to Watch Out for 'Treacherous Toys'

MIDTOWN — As Christmas approaches and holiday shopping ramps up, a new report warns parents to be careful about the products their kids may find under the Christmas tree.

The report was released Sunday afternoon by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in coordination with the New York Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization. It highlights 14 “treacherous toys” that were found in 35 stores across New York State.

The list includes toys that pose choking and injury hazards, contain toxic substances and have magnetic parts that could be dangerous if swallowed. A soft Captain America shield was found to contain lead, and a Nerf N-Strike Jolt Blaster shoots with enough power to cause eye injuries, and seal and dolphin Littlest Pet Shop figurines can be broken down into small parts that could cause a child to choke.

“At the end of the day, parents and our communities want to ensure that they aren’t unknowingly, unwittingly buying products that could harm their children,” Senator Gillibrand said, adding, “as a mother of two young boys, Theo and Henry, I understand there is no greater duty than to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

Three of the toys on the list tested positive for elevated levels of toxic substances, including phthalates, which are added to plastics to make them softer and more pliable. Phthalates have been found to be associated with asthma, birth defects and hormone disruption, among other health problems. Although they are regulated in toys, there is no limit on phthalate content in other children’s products, such as backpacks, raincoats and binders.

One item on the list, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pencil case manufactured by Innovative Design and available in select Toys R Us stores, was found to contain 150 times the legal phthalate limit for toys. Currently, it does not qualify as a toy under federal regulations.

Megan Ahearn, an NYPIRG spokesperson, said these toxin findings were the most striking element of this year’s report. “It’s really alarming. That’s really high levels of those chemicals,” she said.

Because products like the pencil case are still legal, Senator Gillibrand called for an extension of federal regulation on phthalate levels and vowed to introduce legislation to outlaw six types of phthalates.

“What we want to do is ban the phthalates not jus tin toys, but in all products used by children under 12 years old,” Gillibrand said.

But Toy Industry Association spokesperson Adrienne Appell, insisted that the toys on New York shelves are safe. “Providing safe toys for children is the industry’s highest priority; assuring that all play is safe is a responsibility we share with parents and other caregivers,” she wrote in a statement.

Several companies that manufacture toys on the list also refuted the claims about their products.

“U.S. toy safety standards are as stringent as they have ever been and we belie this claim is wholly without Merit,” wrote Anne-Marie Feliciano Grill, referring to the soft Captain America shield manufactured by Disguise.

But Farouk Abdallah, a Brooklyn resident and parent of a 4-year-old daughter and 1-year old son, said he reads the Treacherous Toys report each year and does not trust everything he sees on the shelves.

“For me the scarier thing is the toxic chemicals,” he said, “because we may not even know them all.”

Abdallah also cited the report’s suggestion that parents use a toilet paper tube to measure whether toys' parts are too small for kids, saying the tip proved useful for him. “Something as simple as that could really make a difference,” he said.

Too many funfairs, not enough toys: Germany's Christmas markets backlash

With their artisanal stalls selling wooden toys, vendors offering mulled wine from wooden huts and pine tree shelters, Christmas markets offer respite from the hectic festive schedules, a nostalgic throwback to simpler times. And they're booming; not just in German-speaking countries, where there are now more than 3,700 markets a year, but also in Britain, where they have become annual institutions in Edinburgh, Birmingham and London.

But a number of purists are complaining that German Christmas markets are no longer what they used to be. Supposedly handmade gifts such as wooden stars, nutcrackers and incense-smoking Räuchermännchen are increasingly mass-produced, wholesome produce is being edged out by fatty foods and tacky fairground rides are becoming more prevalent.

Even the vice-president of the Bundestag, CSU politician Johannes Singhammer, has joined the critics. Christmas markets are turning into "an extension of Oktoberfest", he said: "Yes to markets, but no to funfairs!"

Hamburg bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke told tabloid Bild last week that Christmas markets "made people feel something special. Only Christmas and advent can do that. That's why big fairground rides don't belong on these markets".

Traditionally, Christmas markets in Germany don't open until after Totensonntag, a Lutheran religious holiday to commemorate the dead, which this year fell on 24 November. But for the last few years bishops have been complaining that markets have been starting earlier and earlier.

Gelsenkirchen in the industrial Ruhr area demonstrates this trend. Last year, the city was bombarded with complaints about fairground rides and mulled-wine stalls playing loud techno and Schlager folk songs. "In Germany, Christmas markets are a bit like football", Gelsenkirchen's public relations manager Markus Schwadtmann told the Guardian. "Everybody has a bloody opinion about it."

This year, the city has kicked out some of the food stalls – also known as Fressbuden or "stuff-your-face booths" – and increased the percentage of stalls selling handmade candles, wooden toys and Christmas tree decorations from 15 to 40%. The mulled-wine stalls have to sign a contract stating that they will only play music "with a Christmas ambience".

Schwadtmann doesn't try to hide his exasperation with the critics. "It's easy enough to complain about the food stalls, but they make the money. I know the public likes looking at those wooden toys, but I ask them: have you ever actually bought one of them?"

Finding skilled craftspeople willing to spend night after night in the cold with little chance of turning a profit is increasingly hard, he says. In Gelsenkirchen, they offer discounts or donations as incentives. Smaller Christmas markets usually have to pay them.

A study published by the association of funfair workers this week revealed that the village fetes and small seasonal festivals where funfair workers usually earn their living have shrunk in number by almost a third over the last 10 years. At the same time, visitors to Christmas markets have shot up from 50m to 85m, meaning funfair organisers are increasingly trying to make up for their losses in December – and crowding out smaller artisanal stalls. The average spend per head at German Christmas markets is now €21 (£17.50), of which half is on food.

It's enough to turn some Germans off their Christmas markets altogether. Comedian Oliver Maria Schmitt is organising the country's first "anti-Christmas market" this year. "Every Christmas we dress up our beautiful cities with uniform wooden huts to create this absurd favela vibe and give wine-haters an excuse to get pissed on sugary plonk," he said. "My intention is therefore to make Frankfurt a Christmas market-free zone". At a series of cabaret nights this weekend, he intends to serve cold mulled wine only.

• This article was amended on 1 December 2013. The original version wrongly referred to Oliver Maria Schmitt as "she".