Many people remember and love the Mattel toys they played with as a child, and you would like to purchase these toys for your children. But a lot of people are worried since the recall last year where 9 million Chinese-made toys were recalled due to dangers from lead paint and small magnets. Specifically, some people are curious as to whether they can safely buy these Mattel toys at Walmart now.

Well the good news is that you won’t have to worry about the issue if you shop at Walmart because they remove recalled toys from the shelves immediately. Not only that but if one gets left behind accidentally, the registers will not allow it to be rung up. So you can safely buy your Mattel toys at the discount stores without worry.

But what about the recall, what has been done to fix the problem? Mattel has been a long-trusted name with parents, and it is expected that they would have rigorous testing of toys before releasing them to the public. Well, Mattel has said that they consider the use of the lead-based paint used on the toys to be a “serious mistake.” They have conducted investigations as to how the “mistake” occurred and have worked to remedy the situation so that it does not happen again.

Surprisingly, Chinese product safety authorities have said that the lab tests indicate these recalled Mattel toys were up to standards and are in fact safe for children. I find that hard to believe, myself. But evidently the Chinese and European standards may differ from the United States. So while the toys may have been safe when going by other standards, they failed this test for the US.

What does all this mean? You can safely buy your Mattel toys now but do your research and be aware that toys manufactured in other countries may pose a risk for small children. Buy American-made toys whenever possible and avoid buying toys where the manufacturing is exported to foreign countries.