Toys, lead paint a hurtful combo
Wrenching “James,” the red engine in the Thomas the Tank Engine series, away from our developmentally delayed toddler was like shooting Lassie in front of Timmy.
I had to take James and 10 other constant companions from Quin, my 3-year-old, because they were recalled for lead-based paint. The tainted trains, like so many other recent recalls, came from China.
It makes me wonder who, in America, is minding the stores? Lead paint is not an exotic additive. Its danger is not news to anyone who gives a tinker’s damn about child safety. The 1.5 million trains being recalled date back to 2005.
We still love the train series that has been the main vehicle for teaching Quin. For learning and love, James is our go-to train.
“Mom! No aaah, James BOOM da coach,” was Quin’s first communication ever.
Translation: “Help Mom! I (James) spilled (BOOM) my juice (coach).”
Kids with autism spectrum do this so commonly that studies call it Thomas-Speak. It’s a substitution in which Quin was James, and the world was contacted via a trip on little wooden trains of thought.
Because long-term lead poisoning produces the same symptoms of autism and developmental delays that Quin has, our doctor ordered two lead tests, one in his office and the other at the hospital. The tests just came back negative. I thank heaven Quin is lead-free, while I have China to thank for needless needles, grief, worry and pain.
The worst part? No James. The train was Quin’s security blanket.
Fortunately, when we visited the local museum for the Norfolk Southern Railway a few months ago, the curator gave Quin a set of wooden railway Norfolk trains. I didn’t know then how great that gift was. Those trains were made in America, by hand, and guaranteed child safe.
On the night of the great train robbery Quin stood in front of me, green eyes clouded with rage, betrayal and tears. Clutching his Norfolk Southern trains, he shouted, “You go ‘way me! No wuv yew Mom!”
I waited so long to hear him speak a real sentence. Now I wish I’d never heard those words.
He lost his friends and his trust in his Mommy because somebody in China looked at the bottom line instead of the children who were out of sight and out of mind. I’m here to tell those people: It’s a small world after all.