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Is old Lego safe?

(74 Posts)
GrandmaRoo Mon 29-Jan-18 13:42:40

I have seen several newspaper articles recently (although found one from 2012) which state that Lego from the 70’s and 80’s contains levels of cadmium, lead and arsenic which nowadays are not permissible, and may be a health hazard. (Well, yes, but who knew?)
So first a huge apology to my children, then try to ward off the ever present parental guilt about almost everything, then - where is the advice/apology/recommendations and lastly .... what do I do with the huge chest of old Lego which my little grandchildren were going to have presented to them in a few years?
Should I just throw it away? I was about to give it all to a charity shop but that’s just wrong if these warnings are correct. Anyone know any more?

Nelliemoser Mon 29-Jan-18 17:35:10

It is another Could be. If you think about the vast range of differen types of plastic on toys we have bought how many get chewed. I think pets may be in more danger from chewing.
Lego is a hard plastic. I would worry more about the type of soft plastic in "My little ponies" etc than in Lego. I may be wrong though.

MawBroon Mon 29-Jan-18 17:56:08

Overthinking this I fear! Can you provide us with a link?
Thank God our three survived to adulthood then and to produce gorgeous grandchildren for me.
If I had had the sense to save their Lego/Playmobil/big yellow teapot/Sylvanian families AND Ladybird books I would be a happy bunny ?

MawBroon Mon 29-Jan-18 17:57:40

Oh dear M0nica we had better stop letting the 3 year old pull out the fridge and play with the Sabatier knives now I suppose grin

Greyduster Mon 29-Jan-18 19:38:37

I had this conversation with DD last week, Maw, discussing which of GS’s grown out ofs we were going to keep for posterity (for we have loads of stuff here too). We agreed that the Playmobil would stay, ditto any wooden toys and Brio trains, the acres of Lego, K’Nex, and all his books! Why do these things tug at the heart strings in such a way that we can’t bear to part with them even though they will only sit in the attic waiting for future generations?

Greyduster Mon 29-Jan-18 19:39:51

Oh, forgot the Fisher Price!!

Jalima1108 Mon 29-Jan-18 19:48:00

The Fisher Price house and people have gone from the charity box pile back into the bedroom
blush
Ditto the Duplo

NanaNancy Mon 29-Jan-18 20:38:51

All 5 of my GC play with lego which is a mix of purchases made from the 70's, 80's and recently. I have two huge bins and am very thankful for it, except for when there are little lego "mines" waiting for my feet.
No one has been cleared to play unless they were past the eating toy stage. Everyone is fine.
I can even remember playing with liquid mercury and I am still here!

TerriBull Mon 29-Jan-18 20:49:58

I have quite a lot of our sons' old Duplo our grandchildren have played with over the past few years. Plus an assortment of dinasaurs, great favourites and a Brio train set which I couldn't bring myself to get rid of. They seem to prefer a lot of the older stuff, now it seems we should have got rid of some of it hmm

HillyN Mon 29-Jan-18 20:55:48

I help run a Mother and Toddler group and we have a large crate of Lego Duplo we regularly put out for the children to play with. I have no idea how old the bricks are, so should we throw them out? We usually put them out on a table so babies can't reach them, although some do 'migrate' around the room. I wish there was some way of testing them to know if they dodgy!

Bathsheba Mon 29-Jan-18 22:28:52

The Fisher Price house and people have gone from the charity box pile back into the bedroom
These old FP sets can fetch quite a good price on eBay Jalima smile

Bathsheba Mon 29-Jan-18 22:29:43

I can even remember playing with liquid mercury and I am still here!
Oh yes, me too! Wasn't it fun? grin

Jalima1108 Mon 29-Jan-18 23:12:44

Bathsheba we've let a fortune slip through our fingers at this house -all those 'collectors' items' hmm

We used to play with liquid mercury in the school lab, looking at the meniscus and flicking it around the bench.
I'm sure I have some in my fillings anyway, is that more dangerous than playing with old Lego?

Greyduster Tue 30-Jan-18 07:55:13

We have a crate full of Action Men with all their kit and caboodle which will probably go on eBay eventually. We’ve had such a lot of fun with them in the garden over the year, but one or two of them are quite scarce, so we’ve looked after those (as opposed to the ones that have ended up in the military hospital with life threatening injuries requiring copious quantities of glue!).

harrigran Tue 30-Jan-18 08:43:36

We kept our Fisher Price garage and airport from about 1973 and it has been played with by GC too, still in good condition and much loved.
A few years ago a friend visited with her GS and out came the Fisher Price his expression said it all.
They do make a modern equivalent but they are flimsy.

Bathsheba Tue 30-Jan-18 15:20:06

We've got two big dolls, one a baby doll and one a girl doll with long rooted hair, that were my daughter's 30 odd years ago. And somewhere, probably in the loft, I've got a doll that was given to me at Christmas when I was about 9. My daughter used to play with it, but I haven't seen it for a while. Our grandchildren play with the dolls, and the Fisher Price play family house, play family camper and all the bits and bobs that came with them (well, most of the bits and bobs - some are missing, not surprising after 40 years!). I'm definitely not about to pack them away in a panicked, knee jerk reaction just because of a possible 'could be' danger - the grandchildren absolutely love them, and they're the first things they go for when they visit!

Bathsheba Tue 30-Jan-18 15:25:56

Jalima I think we've all let fortunes slip through our fingers sad. I've always wished we'd had a big old house, with a huge attic, all properly floored with sturdy trunks full of all the old toys and clothes kept over the generations.
You know, like in story books. An attic with a rocking horse, great grandma's feathered hats and fox fur stoles shock, and all the gowns she wore when she danced with a friend who danced with a friend who danced with the Prince of Wales smile. Wouldn't that be heaven? And wouldn't the grandchildren just love rummaging around in it all?

Bathsheba Tue 30-Jan-18 15:27:53

But in reality, of course, it'd all be moth-eaten and full of worm. Unless we had lead-lined trunks. And then I wouldn't let the grandchildren near them.
Nice dream though smile

Jalima1108 Tue 30-Jan-18 16:48:34

That sounds very 'Enid Blyton' Bathsheba grin

We do have loads of stuff in our attic, mostly stuff needing to be ditched, and BIL had MIL's fur coat which - yes, you've guessed, got moth in it in their attic.

Jalima1108 Tue 30-Jan-18 16:49:49

Oh, the Fisher Price camper, I wish we'd never sent it to the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale

Bathsheba Tue 30-Jan-18 16:51:28

Ah I loved Enid Blyton wink. Well her books, that is, though if all that’s said about her is to be believed, I probably wouldn’t have liked her one bit.

Jalima1108 Tue 30-Jan-18 16:55:51

Somewhere amidst the junk I have her biography Green Hedges - their lives sound idyllic but I don't think they were!

Greyduster Tue 30-Jan-18 17:50:20

Jalima my DD had the Fisher Price camper and she talked about how much she loved it the other day when we were discussing GS’s toys. I gave it to a nursery, but I really wish I hadn’t. I think she will not make the same mistake.

Jalima1108 Tue 30-Jan-18 18:13:33

DD loved it and would play with it for ages, making up little stories and talking to the FP people.
Likewise the DGD with the house which was passed on by a friend, I used to love hearing them chatting away using their imagination with the 'people'.

Morgana Tue 30-Jan-18 23:30:35

Thanks for the suggestion Jalima

Jalima1108 Tue 30-Jan-18 23:34:42

The tub of Duplo I bought was just blocks, not a kit Morgana, but it came with pictures of what could be made and we DGD used to have fun with it