Violent Toys: SOS!

(Baonghean)The most noticeable thing is that children’s toys today are no longer spinning tops, hopscotch, marbles, and cards, but instead are all kinds of violent toys such as guns, swords, daggers, or toys copied from horror movies. Every Tet, Mid-Autumn Festival, and International Children’s Day, these toxic toys flood toy stores, tainting children’s minds.

According to data from the Market Management Department, in the first 6 months of 2012, 2 cases of illegal toy transportation were inspected, discovered and handled, confiscating 430 plastic bullet guns of various types (submachine guns, pistols - can cause injury at close range).

In 2011, the Market Management Department seized, handled, and destroyed many cases of smuggling children's toys that were substandard and did not have the CR mark, including 409 cars, 3,410 sexy dolls, and 1,950 rubber balls with spikes. In particular, there were 1,152 bottles of bubble water made in China, which contains many chemicals that are dangerous to the respiratory tract and can lead to dermatitis if accidentally exposed to the hands and feet, especially for children with allergies. During the toy raid on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2011, the Administrative Management Team for Social Order, Vinh City Police inspected 3 business kiosks in the Vinh market area, discovered and seized 961 guns, swords, and 1,200 plastic bullets.

Mr. Tran Van Dien, Head of the Planning and Synthesis Department (Nghe An Market Management Department) affirmed: "The number of smuggled toys that the authorities discovered and seized is just the tip of the iceberg. Even at toy stores, they only display a small number, while large warehouses are often hidden, making them very difficult to detect." Mr. Dien added: "Most of the children's toys today are smuggled goods, mainly originating from China, 100% seriously violating regulations on quality safety, product labeling...".



Mobile toy stores also hide a lot of violent toys that are "available when needed".

In the role of someone looking for toy sources to sell in the districts during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we went to Vinh market, the largest wholesale toy market in the province. The first floor of the market has about 10 toy stalls, scattered among the other stalls. The toys displayed outside are all very healthy things such as battery-powered trains, remote-controlled cars, dolls... However, when we asked Mr. Ng., the owner of Yen Ng. store, if he had plastic guns or swords, Ng. looked suspicious, "Who are you buying it for, flamethrowers or bullet guns?". "I want to buy a lot of goods for my wife to sell in the district during the Mid-Autumn Festival." Hearing that, this man changed his attitude, quickly went inside, and brought out a batch of impressive guns, from colts, K54s to rifles, machine guns, and grenades. In particular, there is a gun that looks exactly like an AK47 with a full metal casing, including a trigger, barrel, sight, and a 30-round gold magazine that can shoot hundreds of meters away. In terms of price, a pistol that shoots plastic bullets costs from 50,000 to 200,000 VND/gun. That does not include the cost of buying an additional glowing bayonet attached to the gun head, batteries, plastic bullets, iron ball bullets...

Not only in Vinh market, currently, at many shops along Dang Thai Than, Nguyen Van Cu streets, entertainment venues of Vinh City such as in front of Ho Chi Minh Square, Central Park, Labor Culture House... it is not difficult to buy violent toys for children. Right at most markets in the city, buying a gun with a laser beam, a sword... is also very simple. From Vinh wholesale market, or directly from smuggled goods sources, the street vendors have been very effective in instilling a culture of violence into young people and children.

Exposure to violent toys is the seed for aggression in children. Many cases have been taken to the emergency room because of toys that have shown that. Most recently, in May 2012, a third grader at Hung Dung School was shot in the eye by a friend with a plastic gun, puncturing his cornea and tear ducts, and had to be taken to Hanoi for emergency treatment.

According to a doctor at Nghe An Mental Hospital, children's liking to play with violent toys can cause complex psychological changes, paranoia, thinking they are characters in games and easily forming violent personalities in children.

Discussing this issue, Mr. Tran Van Dien - Head of Planning and Synthesis Department (Nghe An Market Management Department) said: The appearance of violent toys (mainly Chinese goods) in the market is because "there is demand, there is supply". Many parents are still willing to buy toxic toys to please their children. Some families see their children addicted to playing games so they buy guns, find them for their children to play with to quit playing games, but unexpectedly they become addicted to both. Besides, the market management force is "too thin". Currently, the provincial Market Management Department has less than 100 employees spread across 7 inter-district teams in the province, and our mission is not only to check violent toys, we also have to fight against smuggling, counterfeit goods and other unexpected tasks. "Mr. Dien added: "Every year, when the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the authorities also increase their inspections of stores selling children's toys, especially stores showing signs of selling plastic guns and bullets, which are dangerous to life, but it is just a drop in the ocean.

Violent toys, no matter what form they are produced in, are a cause for concern. Declining personality and increasing school violence are partly due to this. It is time for authorities to make efforts in inspecting and handling the trade of these items. At the same time, parents should not indulge their children with “guns and bullets”, even though they know they are just plastic toys, because the consequences they bring are unpredictable.

From April 15, 2010, Circular No. 18/2009/TT-BKHCN issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the implementation of national technical regulations on safety of children's toys - QCVN 3: 2009/BKHCN took effect. Accordingly, all types of children's toys must be quality controlled and have a conformity mark (CR stamp), businesses are only allowed to trade in children's toys when they have a quality stamp from the Ministry of Science and Technology, all types of children's toys will have to be checked for pollutants, pH, solutions, formaldehyde in materials made of wood, fabric, plastic... Children's toys without a CR stamp will be fined 10 - 15 million VND.

Tran Hai