‘Tis the Season for Turtles Toys

Or is it? Sadly, it would appear that at least one senator is declaring war on TMNT toys designed for kids. Is she just being a Grinch, or does she have a point? Well, over the weekend, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a press conference to talk about some nasty toys hitting the market and how toxic they can actually be to children. Sadly, one of these toys was from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. Of course, the object in question was just a pencil, but that doesn’t detract from the reality that a lot of the play things that come into this country nowadays simply aren’t tested well enough to determine whether or not they are actually safe to play with.

Senator Gillibrand is on a crusade to ban toxic chemicals in toys and other items designed to be sold to children in New York. Needless to say, we could use more law makers just like her all around the world. If you’re concerned about what your child will be playing with this holiday season, it’s a good bet to stick to brand names that you know and trust. In other words, if you’ve got a little Ninja Turtles fan in the house, stick with names such as Playmates, Funko and other well known companies. As I’m sure we all can attest to, Playmates is a name that goes hand in hand with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and you know that you’re getting quality when you buy their products. Unfortunately, toys are one area where you really don’t want to skimp on the budget, especially when so many of them are not properly regulated.

You might have noticed that I mentioned Funko alongside other trustworthy toy brands. If you didn’t already know, they recently put out an entire set of TMNT toys in their Pop! Vinyl series which are perfect for display. Perhaps they aren’t the best toys for younger children, but they are pretty sturdy and Funko is a brand name you can trust. As of right now they only have the Vinyl figures, a few bookmarks and some other odds and ends available. However, it was just recently announced that they have plans to release some new Papercraft Playsets in January, which will allow kids to build their own Ninja Turtles. Papercraft has become quite popular over the last few years, so it’s about time that the TMNT found their way into one of these awesome sets.

If you’re a parent looking for TMNT toys this holiday season, just remember to stay safe and avoid purchasing anything that looks cheap or comes from a brand that you do not trust. Even trustworthy brands have been known to make mistakes, but at least they will attempt to make up for said problems should they arise. With how popular the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have become in the past few years, it can be tempting to go with something off brand, but just remember that doing so may be putting your child’s health at risk. With that in mind, I would like to wish you all the best of luck in your holiday shopping. I think I speak for everyone here on the site when I say that we wish every child could have a turtley awesome holiday season, so please do your part to keep your kids safe and happy this year by getting them toys they will truly enjoy!