Farhad - didn't you ever play with fuse beads when you were a kid? They are small plastic cylinders that you arrange on a little peg board and fuse together with an iron. They make fun magnets and other doohickeys.

(http://www.perlerbeads.com/ for example)

Maybe little beads and irons are too dangerous for 3 or 4 year olds, but I used them, and have seen a lot of other kids enjoy them, by the age of 5 ... 5 year olds are less likely to choke on a tiny bead, and the adult does the ironing.

Anyway, I just didn't want anyone to be totally scared off of a fun and easy rainy-day craft by this article!

lc

By the way, here's some geeky fuse-bead art to check out: http://www.insertcredit.com/features/beads/

This toy is not for 2 year olds. Or any other kids who still puts anything in their mouths that isn't food. LOTS of things look like food!

Why condescend to the good folks who bought this toy?

How about a little more focus on the stunningly poor QC that allowed this to get by? Let's implement a "taste test" for every toy. Every toy, under, um, let's say, 5 centimeters. And round. And shiny or colorful.

To the author of this article: If you love this Aquadots mess, you've got to look at some household cleaners and the way they are packaged. One company likes to put bright purple, red and blue toxic cleaning liquid in bottles that look exactly like big water bottles.

I have Aquadots in my house, but none of that cleaner.

Could Salon make a front page ad MORE intrusive, offensive and complex? I mean it already doesn't work with FF with adblock and flashblocker. Why not just hang a sign that says "We get paid by Redmond so that's the only browser you can use here"

Just a question- should we recall the vast amounts of bead kits across the US now? I understand that the chemicals in the beads are harmful, but they aren't meant to be ingested! It seems that if the toy was being used by an older child who knew better, there wouldn't be a problem! Babies need to be watched- EVERY mother knows that you have to watch them like a hawk or something inedible (and potentially dangerous) will end up in their little mouth.

I think the concern over this product is warranted. Yes, any bead is dangerous around small children, and Aquadots are not for the toy-eating set.

However, I don't know how much glue you have to come in contact with to be affected (or get a buzz?), but while most 5+ will not be eating them, they might be *licking* them. If they come apart and the teeny sprayer isn't handy, a quick lick to the beads and they stick back together. I did it, my kids did it....and the cats did it.

I wonder if any pets have been killed by this toy. We bought a small kit (one of the refills) to try out before getting the big kit, and decided against it because our cats seemed to be hell-bent on getting their paws on one. Thankfully, none of them did.

YEESH!!

There seems to be a lot of hype about this story, but we should really pause and look at it in perspective.

Many in the media have been referring to this product as having "toxic glue". In reality, the glue is not toxic - it is only when it is injested that it is metabolized into a toxic compound. The toy is not meant to be injested. Batteries contain toxic materials that are not safe to injest. Does this mean we should recall all toys with batteries?

Granted the Aqua Dots look more attactive than batteries, but still, the product is not meant to be injested. Understandably, young children may not realize this. That is why children have parents. Parents need to be responsible enough to make decisions about whether a product is safe. Even if there were no toxicity issue, the product still poses a choking hazard for young child. The parent should realize this issue and not buy the product - or at very least supervise the product's use. Just in case the parent fails to realize the choke hazard, the manufacturer does. They label the product for children ages 4 and up. It is interesting to note that in both cases that are mentioned in the recall, neither child is over age 4. In fact, one child is only 20 months old.

Solutions: When I was an infant I played Peek-a-Boo and I loved it. I didn't need Aqua Dots. When I got older and could be left alone I played Hide and Seek. When we were old enough to be trusted in outside by ourselves, we played ball in the yard. When I turned 16 years old, I was old enough to get my drivers license - but my parents decided I wasn't old enough for that until I was 17. They took responsibility for their children. But if Peak-a-Boo doesn't keep your little one entertained for long, try playing with Fruit Loops or Cheerios. At least that toy is part of a healthy breakfast.

Come on people! What's next Jr. meth lab science kits? We need to realize that cheap material and labor are killing us- LITERALLY! That old addage You get what you pay for is evident these days. Yes, parents , watch your children, make sure they are not swallowing beads, and keep out of reach of the little ones, but it is not too much to ask of manufacturers to stop making items for children with poisonous material. And lets not ignore the fact that there are many substances that do not need to be ingested orally, but that can be ingested simply through touching them. As a mom, I am sick and tired of being worried about the substances found on or in my childrens' toys. It is not okay and does not matter what chemical reaction is necessary for it to turn into a commonly known substance. If there is any degree of possibility that a substance can cause developmental delays, illness, birth defects,or death it should not be used in products geared toward children.