For those new to this website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
- Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
- All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
- Items reported on are tested multiple times to confirm the test results reported for each component tested.
- Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition) and The Guardian in November of 2023.
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Section #1) Some specific toys tested
The 25 images below are some of the Fisher Price toys that members of the Lead Safe Mama, LLC team have tested and reported test results for here on the Lead Safe Mama website. Click any of the images below to read the full article related to that specific toy, including the levels of Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic and/or Mercury found in that toy.
The images below do not represent ALL of our articles related to vintage Fisher Price toys. There are currently 72 (SEVENTY TWO!) articles with test results for vintage Fisher Price toys here on the Lead Safe Mama website. If you click this link you will find all 72 of the articles. The articles are displayed with eight thumbnails to a page – and there is a small arrow with the words “Next Page” next to it at the bottom of the eight articles (on each page). Just click the words “Next Page” if you want to scroll through to see the next eight vintage Fisher Price articles.
Click the Instagram screenshots below to see them full-sized and read the comments.
Section #2) For those new to the site!
It is with the help, support, and participation of LeadSafeMama.com readers that Tamara & her team conduct and report on independent testing of consumer goods for toxicants (Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, and Antimony), using high-accuracy X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (read more about that here).
You can follow this work “@LeadSafeMama” on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (click the social media buttons at the top of this article).
There are more than 4,000 separate articles and posts with information related to consumer goods safety and childhood Lead poisoning prevention (with most of the articles focusing on consumer goods test results for toxicants and the potential safety concerns for children) on this website. You can use the search bar at the top of every page to check out the different categories of information and search for specific products/their test results – or you can continue your inquiry (into making safer choices for your family) by checking out the categories of articles via the quick buttons on our website menu – link here.
Continue reading below the image.
Published: November 25, 2020
Updated: November 26, 2023
Section #3) Some Background
Members of the Lead Safe Mama team have been doing consumer goods testing using an XRF instrument since 2009 – and vintage Fisher-Price toys were among the very first toys we tested and found to be toxic (likely unsafe for children) due to the levels of Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead found in many of these vintage toys.
Since the testing we did back in 2009, there have been multiple studies discussing (and confirming) the potential concerns with these mass-manufactured vintage plastic toys. Here’s one study link – from 2015. Here’s another, February 2018. Now, based on comments Fisher-Price has made publicly on Instagram starting in 2020, Fisher-Price is finally on board in communicating with their customers and fans about this concern!
Continue reading below the images.
An article (with test results) from this website.
Click the image to read the full article about the doll pictured.
A post from the Fisher-Price Toy Museum on Instagram:
Section #4) A virtual “Fisher-Price Toy Museum” on Instagram
In October 2020, we found out about the Fisher-Price Toy Museum account on Instagram. It first came across our news feed on Yahoo News, and then a handful of Lead Safe Mama readers suggested that we check it out. When we looked at the link and content and images on the account our immediate reaction was that the account should be renamed the “Fisher-Price Toxic Toy Museum!”
… a “Toxic Toy Museum” (exhibit) …
Lead Safe Mama, LLC actually has quite a large collection of toxic vintage Fisher-Price pieces in our storage unit (a storage unit we keep that is full of toxic consumer goods) in Oregon, awaiting inclusion in our “Lead Museum” exhibit — a long-planned project, which will be a traveling museum exhibit (to art and science museums around the country) with the intention of educating parents and children about the presence of Lead in vintage mass-manufactured consumer goods.
After discovering this virtual Fisher-Price Toy Museum, we spent some time reviewing their Instagram page to check out each of their posts and read all of the comments. We were curious what toys they might have on the page that we didn’t yet have in the Lead Safe Mama collection yet (as we want to make sure to test all of the most popular ones that families might still have in use in their homes). We found PLENTY of known Lead-contaminated examples up on their Instagram page — and (at that moment) decided that sometime soon we might make a “complementary“ account with a post with toxicant readings for each of the items they have in their virtual museum (for the items for which we have already done testing)!
Continue reading below the image
The image below is from an earlier article on this website.
Click the image to read the full article about the dolls pictured.
Section #5) Reactions to the virtual “Fisher-Price Toy Museum”
Reading the comments on Instagram, I became a bit alarmed! In the Instagram comments, parents were talking about their fondness for these toys. I anticipated this would be the case since this is the reaction I often get to articles on this website — but to see it in this way was somehow unexpected. Parents and grandparents alike were commenting about how they had saved their vintage toys for their children and grandchildren. Again, still not too familiar with Instagram at the time, I private messaged some of the parents suggesting they not use them, as these toys are unsafe. I also posted comments about this in response to their comments. I was concerned (and half-expected) that Fisher-Price might react as some other companies I have called out have reacted and might delete my comments, trying to silence the truth — but I was pleasantly surprised! Below is one of the initial exchanges:
Here’s an exchange we found (and participated in) on the Fisher-Price Toy Museum Instagram (see image above)
- Qunitananation said:
- “I still have this and the Sesame Street house! My toddler is playing with it now!”
- I responded:
- “These have unsafe levels of Lead and would be considered illegal today. Please don’t let your child play with these vintage Fisher Price toys.”
- Fisher Price responded:
- “We’re so glad these were so loved! Sadly, we do not recommend playing with vintage toys, as safety standards have changed, but these will make terrific additions to your decor!”
There are several more similar exchanges below (and above) in additional screenshots from Instagram (each of the images looks similar, but the comments on each image are different).
Continue reading below the images
Another post from The Fisher Price Toy Museum on Instagram:
A report from this website.
Click the image to read the full article about the doll pictured.
Section #6) A responsible company, for a change!
Unlike Corelle or Tupperware (each of which — at the time of initially publishing this article — had yet to publicly respond to the Lead Safe Mama, LLC findings of high levels of toxic heavy metals in their vintage products, although Corelle did at least “privately” message with customers about similar recommendations for their vintage pieces), Fisher-Price has chosen the high road in making these statements public and visible on their Instagram account!
Fisher Price has also responded to MANY of the comments with a similar message (see more examples below), suggesting these vintage toys should not be played with by children; that they are not up to today’s safety standards, and specifically suggesting these vintage toys should only be used as decor. It’s so great to have this work validated (and in a way, acknowledged) by such an important company in a very public way.
But they could do better, couldn’t they?
While, on one hand, it would be nice if Fisher-Price would issue an easily findable full public statement (on their main website or main social media pages) specifically acknowledging that these items have toxic heavy metals (so parents and grandparents would better understand the concerns and risks involved in letting children play with these toxic / unsafe / illegal-by-today’s-standards vintage toys) — the fact that the company has publicly commented at all is a fabulous (first pass) public corporate reaction to the concern!
I do, however, disagree with their sentiment that these pieces would be appropriate to use as decor (in a home — or, more specifically, in a child’s room). I think if they are used as decor in spaces where children might be, there is too much of a potential risk. As “decor,” these vintage toys will be too tempting for children who will likely go out of their way to try to get to them down to play with (from behind glass or from up high on a shelf — however they might be presented or displayed as decor).
Section #7) Safer Choices
Proactively (turning the concern into an opportunity), Fisher-Price also has done an amazing job in re-releasing some of their more popular classic vintage toys in modern, toxicant-free versions that families can buy new today for their young children to safely play with!
Click this link to see some of the newly-issued retro Fisher Price toys on Amazon!*
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing articles from LeadSafeMama.com. Sharing our articles (with your friends and family, on social media, IRL, and elsewhere!) helps to support the work of this woman-owned small business (based in Portland, Oregon) — and specifically supports the independent testing of consumer goods and reporting of results that we make freely available (not behind a pay wall) to all who read the articles here.
Please let us know if you have any questions and we will do our best to answer them as soon as we have a moment.
Tamara Rubin
Owner — Lead Safe Mama, LLC
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead poisoned children
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s affiliate links we may receive a small percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.
More screenshots of comments and responses (including more from Fisher-Price) on this Instagram post are below. Each has the same image but the comment thread on the right is different.
One example of a grandma commenting that she is saving these toys for her great-grandkids:
Image below, a comment from Fisher-Price:
Response example #1) to carolinacamy: “Safety standards have changed, but the cherished memories you have with this toy have not! So while we can’t recommend playing with this toy, we can recommend loving it all the same.”
Response example #2) to mo_latimer: 
Response example #3) to melodymontgomery:
Image below, comment from Fisher-Price:
Response example #4) to flashback620: “Safety standards have changed over the years so we can’t recommend that you play with this toy, but you can still put it on a pedestal for all to admire.”
Response example #5) response to mahartzell:
Image below, comment from Fisher-Price:
“Safety standards have changed so we can’t recommend that you play with this toy, but you can still put it on a pedestal for all to admire like you’ve always wanted to.”
Can you explain the safety standards from
Then and now. And who was responsible for changing this standard.
I know this is about Fisher Price, but you also mention the vintage Corelle. Do you know if the “leaded” Corelle was only items with color/color trim, or was the plain white Corelle “leaded” at one time? I got rid of my “really old” Corelle, but I have some plain white rectangular appetizer plates and a “divided” plate that I am not sure how old they are; they might be 10 years old or so, I just don’t remember…
Hi Julia,
Plain white Corelle, new and vintage are Lead-free.
Here are a couple of examples:
https://tamararubin.com/2020/06/1980s-white-corelle-bowl-lead-free-cadmium-free-arsenic-free-mercury-free/
https://tamararubin.com/2018/11/corelle-vitrelle-plain-white-bowl-purchased-new-in-2017-lead-free/
If the kids are playing with let’s say the fisher price garage for an hour and wash their hands well after words , how much of a concern to exposure is there?if this only occurs maybe twice a month at Grandmas house?
Hi, fellow reader here. While I’m not sure about the specific potential for exposure, lead as a toxin has a few concerning properties. Because of these, I still would not recommend letting children play with them.
Unlike many poisons, our bodies cannot easily break down and eliminate lead, so even small amounts build up over time. It is also often difficult to keep kids from putting their hands (or the toys) in their mouths while playing, which would result in increased lead exposure. Even with hand-washing, some lead products will produce inhalable lead dust as they deteriorate over the years 🙁
Plus, the Little People are a choking hazard. That’s why the Little People made today are much chunkier.
Young children e.gage in hand to mouth behavior where they either mouth objects, mouth their hands which were touching the object, or will go and eat food while still having potential toxic residue. I would not trust these to be played with at someone else’s house where you cannot observe your child
I read this and am on board with ending my child’s play with the large collection of vintage fisher price little people characters and play sets that I have. I do have fond memories of playing with them as a child, which is why I shared mine and bought more used for my child, who is now 7. My child cried when I told her about the toys being unsafe to play with. Now grandma sent me this Web MD article writing doctors saying that 2007 leaded Fisher Price toys are safe, as long as children do not put them in their mouths. Grandma says that my 7 year old would never do this. My understanding is that being over 30 years old, these Fisher Price little people (some plastic some partially wooden) and play sets (plastic and pressed cardboard) will provide dust we don’t want to inhale. I may request lead tests from my child’s pediatrician. But wondering how much grandma is correct in thinking exposures are very small if no chewing of toys?
Link grandma sites: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20070802/toy-recall-what-parents-should-know
Grandma says that “Toys are not suspect of danger in relation to dust unless you sand them. This is stated by doctors in the article.”
I’m suspicious of this claim.
What do we know about dust and lead or other toxic exposure to toys? About physical touch exposure (without putting in mouth)? Fisher Price suggests decorative use, but if dust is an issue even this would be problematic.
Any insight would be helpful. Thank you!
I understand ‘decorative use’ possibly being safer, just because if the toys aren’t being moved or handled, there is much less opportunity for lead dust to be produced and made airborne. I suppose you could also cover them with a clear container, if you wanted.
The opening of the article linked states that the (2007 recall) items are not immediately dangerous, but should still be disposed of. I don’t think we can compare these 2007 painted toys with the vintage ones, mostly because the vintage toys are likely in a state of mild deterioration. My concern with lead poisoning is that there are many potential routes of exposure in one’s day-to-day life (pre-1970s housing, many housewares, industrial pollution), and the effects are additive. If there was a way to ensure that these children’s only lead exposure was the occasional use of these toys, perhaps it would be less concerning. The other issue is that there aren’t really any obvious signs of lead poisoning until damage is being done, so it’s not really something you can just play by ear.
Ultimately, it is an individual judgement call, so this is just my $0.02.
I have several Fisher Price dollhouses, furniture, and family people. They were purchased in the early 2000’s. Are they safe for my 3 and 5 year old grandchildren to play with? Thank you.
Hi Janis – can you share links with examples here (maybe from eBay?) and I can let you know if I have tested examples like that? Alternately, click the “Fisher Price” keyword at the top of this post to see everything I have reported on and scroll through those examples.
T
Hi Tamara have you tested the fisher price loving family dream doll house by any chance?
Hi Tamara!
Thank you so much for this info and all your work! I was scrolling through these older conversation because I had the same question as above.
Have you since tested any of the Fisher Price Loving Family dolls?
Here are some examples:
https://tinyurl.com/lovingfamily1
https://tinyurl.com/lovingfamily2
https://tinyurl.com/lovingfamily3
Much appreciated,
S
PS: These Loving Family dolls are very common in preschools. Thank you!
Why would anyone risk it, is what I want to know…I mean, the government won’t pay for a rental with any peeling paint. You don’t know what, if any or to what extent the damage might be. It could cause things like ADD. I have it. Why would you want to give your kids or grandkids or anyone else a distinct disadvantage? That doesn’t make sense.
What year did Fisher Price toys become “safe?”
2011
Just to be clear, does this mean That pretty much all of the vintage little people, vehicles, houses, and accessories are toxic? Or just SOME of them?
If you look through the blog by clicking the “Fisher Price” keyword at the top of the post you will see dozens of examples of what has tested positive and what has not. Sometimes one will test positive and one that looks the same will be negative – the consumer cannot know the difference by year made or batch so it is best to avoid them – but please do look through the examples on the blog – I think there are probably close to 100 posts with test results for specific different vintage Fisher price toys. Here’s the video that shows how to use the blog too (it is very helpful – I’ve been told!): https://youtu.be/vDqTi5KSQt0
Hi Tamara,
I have quite a few FP toys from my childhood and am wondering if any of them are safe for my 17 month old to play with. I just took photos of the ones I have at my house. My mom has many more. Can I send you the photos?
I live in the Loveland/Fort Collins area and I’m sure there would be plenty of parents interested in hearing more about the work you’ve done between my area and Boulder area next time you are in CO.
I also just removed the Crayola Jumbo crayons and am looking for a safe alternative.
Thank you for helping to keep our children safe!
Smiles,
Gina
Hi – thanks for commenting… my email is TamaraRubin@mac.com
Hi there thank you so much for all your research! I recently started vintage thrifting and selling for profit, I had no idea almost everything I have is full of lead. First of all no one is talking about it and vintage items are in huge demand these days, which is concerning since no one knows the possible risks. I feel so guilty to the people I’ve already sold toxic items to. I’m not yet sure what I’m going to do with my many many lead containing objects that I planned on selling. But I am concerned for mine and my small dogs health after bringing all of this into the house. What would you recommend as a way to keep things contained and how to keep lead from leaching and spreading all over the house? How should I minimize lead dust, does a regular sweep / mop / wipe down of the area help at all or would you recommend something better?
Thank you so much again for all you do!
Hi Cassidy – Thank you for commenting!
Dogs are definitely impacted at much smaller amounts of exposure than humans, given their relative body mass. Many vets do have Blood Lead Testing equipment in their offices and it might be worth asking if your vet has the equipment to test your dog (and if they can do that for you at your next check up.)
Without knowing exactly which items you are selling, it is hard to know if it is creating a dust hazard in your home or not. There is still not scientific consensus on whether or not high-lead plastics could create dust simply by sitting there (no one has done studies to determine that.) Painted items, brass items, high-lead ceramic items and high-lead crystal items all have the potential to add micro particulate lead to the home environment at hazardous levels.
Here’s a little video and post about how to clean up lead dust in a home:
https://tamararubin.com/2017/05/my-cloroxwipesvideo-or-how-to-clean-up-lead-dust-a-short-video-by-lead-safe-mama-tamara-rubin/
Sweeping and mopping are not good alternatives as they can spread lead dust around.
Tamara
Hi there! Have you tested any of the little times people or dollhouses from the late 80s/early 90s. I’m wondering if these are also unsafe for my littles.
Thank you!
Hi Stormie,
I don’t see testing results for “Little Times” people or dollhouses on Tamara’s website yet. If you’d like to send in an item for testing, here is some info: https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
I have a fisher price high chair with clip on tray from 1986. Do you have data on lead levels in the high chairs? My son said the plastic is too old and wont let his kids be in this chair so I guess I should get rid of it. You have tested fisherprice toys but any high chairs? This is the classic navy blue covered foam for the back and seat, and cream coloured plastic on the arms and tray. Thanks so much.
Oh, I have this high chair also….would like to know. Sad how we think we are doing something good, being frugal, keeping things the next generation might want or need, when we are doing the opposite. Glad to be informed now. Thank you Tamara!
Any suggestions on how to dispose of old FP toys now that I see my Grandkids shouldn’t be playing with them?
So sad..some of their favorite play items are ones saved from my daughters.
Hi there,
I am wondering if you have any information on the Fisher Price kitchenette from 1987?
Thanks so much.
Hello, I am a new grandmother and I can’t thank you enough for this website and your research! I was about to let my grandson play with a 30 yr old Playskool cobbler’s bench and hammer that his uncle played with as a toddler. I’m not going to risk it and am ready to shop for safe lead-fee toys. Please give any recommendations for toy companies that you know are safe to purchase from. Thank you again!!!
Thank you for the examples of Safer Choices. One of the Safer Choices is the FP Chatter Box Phone. The link for this phone brings you to Amazon and based on that listing, this phone has a release date of 2009.
I noticed in one of your responses that the FP toys did not become safe until 2011. So is this 2009 Chatter Box phone safe or not safe?